In recent months, the Philippines has seen a welcome and measurable decline in hunger incidence among the country’s poorest families.
The government has attributed this to the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) “Walang Gutom Program” (WGP). As of March 2025, surveys show that hunger prevalence among WGP beneficiaries dropped by 7.2 percentage points—a significant and encouraging development for a country with the longtime problem of food insecurity.
The latest data from the Social Weather Stations (SWS) reveals that the most dramatic improvement occurred in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)–Plus cluster, which includes Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, and Zamboanga Sibugay. In these areas, hunger incidence among WGP beneficiaries dropped by 17.4 percentage points—from 55.1 percent to 37.7 percent. These provinces historically report the highest rates of hunger in the nation, and this reduction signals that government intervention is finally making inroads where it matters most.
The credit for this progress is being directed toward the “Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program,” commonly known as the Walang Gutom Program. Launched in July 2023 under Executive Order 44, the initiative aims to uplift 750,000 food-poor families by 2027 through targeted support, nutritional education, and behavior-change interventions.
The WGP is a key component of the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) Program, which links community organizations to markets. In October last year, President Marcos renewed the commitment to Zero Hunger by directing agencies and LGUs to support EPAHP, focusing on improving farm productivity, ensuring nutritious food access, and enhancing food security.
The WGP is more than a temporary aid program—it’s a long-term investment in human capital. Unlike traditional "ayuda" or unconditional cash transfers, the program requires beneficiaries to attend monthly nutrition education sessions. These sessions teach families how to prepare affordable, nutritious, and tasty meals, instilling healthy eating habits and promoting self-sufficiency.
The program gives each household ₱3,000 worth of monthly food credits through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards, which can only be used at accredited partner retailers, including over 1,000 establishments nationwide.
Many initiatives have also come from the private sector where many foundations and non-government organizations have devoted much resources and time to reduce the incidence of hunger through other means. These organizations conduct programs to fight hunger from many fronts – cultivating home gardens, connecting producers of crafts and vegetables to regular buyers, giving livelihood to heads of families, conducting feeding programs to the malnourished, and training programs to upgrade skills.
The government's decision to expand the WGP program comes at a critical time. As of August 2025, the WGP supports 300,000 families, but the DSWD has announced plans to double this number to 600,000 by the end of the year, and eventually to 750,000 by mid-2026. DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian stated that the expansion is backed by evidence from both internal assessments and independent surveys, which confirm the WGP's effectiveness.
From October 2024 to March 2025, the hunger incidence among WGP families fell from 48.7 percent to 41.5 percent—a steady decline over two consecutive quarters. The broader SWS survey also mirrored this positive trend, showing a national decrease in involuntary hunger from 20 percent in April to 16.1 percent in June 2025.
This success proves that the fight against hunger cannot rely solely on food distribution or one-time financial aid. It requires a multi-faceted strategy that addresses both immediate needs and the root causes of food insecurity.
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