The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reaffirmed on Saturday (May 10) the agency’s commitment to intensifying anti-hunger and anti-poverty efforts, attributing the recent drop in self-rated poverty and food poverty to the whole-of-government approach.
The April 2025 OCTA survey showed a decline in self-rated poverty and food poverty among Filipino families. The April 10 to 16 nationwide survey showed 42 percent—or approximately 11.1 million families—now consider themselves poor, marking an eight-percentage-point drop from 50 percent, or around 13.2 million families, recorded in November 2024.
In the same survey, the percentage of families who consider themselves food poor dropped by 14 points—from 49 percent or 12.9 million families in November 2024 to 35 percent or around 9.2 million families in April.
Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao attributed the positive gains in the OCTA survey to the DSWD’s collaborative interventions on programs like the Walang Gutom Program (WGP), Walang Gutom Kitchen, and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
“We are pleased with the results of the survey. These somehow reflect the sustained and strategic interventions of the DSWD like the WGP, Walang Gutom Kitchen, and the 4Ps, which are being implemented in collaboration with different partner-agencies,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao, who is also the DSWD spokesperson, said.
The WGP, as mentioned by the DSWD spokesperson, is part of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s commitment to eliminating involuntary hunger in the country by providing sustainable support systems and ensuring that every Filipino family has access to nutritious food.
The Walang Gutom Program was established through Executive Order No. 44 and aims to reach 750,000 food-poor families by 2027.
According to the DSWD spokesperson, the Walang Gutom Kitchen, which seeks to address involuntary hunger and reduce food wastage by turning donated surplus food from hotels, restaurants, and organizations into hot meals for individuals experiencing hunger, complements the WGP and other anti-hunger initiatives of the agency.
Another flagship program of the DSWD that focuses on breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty is the 4Ps.
The 4Ps is the national poverty reduction strategy and a human capital investment program of the Philippine government, with DSWD as the lead agency.
“Beyond these programs, the DSWD also provides livelihood assistance, cash-for-work, and feeding programs, among others,” the DSWD spokesperson pointed out.
Asst. Secretary Dumlao said the DSWD will continue to work with partners to enhance its programs and services and will use the results of the survey as a reminder to work harder to achieve President Marcos’ vision of a hunger-free Philippines and a single-digit poverty incidence by 2028. (YADP)