The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) continues to use the negotiated procurement-community participation (NP-CP) method in its Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP) as this will help link community-based organizations (CBOs) to prospective markets.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr, through 2024 Memorandum Circular No. 47, has urged the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger (IATF-ZH), in coordination with relevant government agencies, to adopt the community participation procurement method to encourage CBOs to engage in the Enhanced Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (EPAHP) Program.

“We express our full support in utilizing the NP-CP as the procurement method for the SFP and nutrition services in our centers and residential care facilities (CRCFs),” Director Edmon Monteverde of the DSWD’s Protective Services Bureau said during a workshop conducted by the EPAHP Program last April 22-25 at the Hevea Hotel and Resort in Angeles City, Pampanga.

Under the program components of the EPAHP, the SFP serves as one of the DSWD’s flagship feeding programs, and dietary service commitments outlined in the EPAHP Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 1, aimed at providing market assistance to CBOs through community procurement.

Director Monteverde pointed out that using NP-CP will not only enhance the nutritional value of meals provided to undernourished children but also support small-scale farmers, fisherfolk, and other CBOs.

“In its aim to enhance the nutritional value of meals provided to the undernourished children, the DSWD included milk feeding as a component of the SFP, and some of the milk products are being purchased from local dairy producers through NPCP. This approach is consistent with our objective to support small scale farmers, fisherfolk and other CBOs,” Director Monteverde explained.

During the four-day workshop in Angeles City, personnel from the EPAHP Program and SFP from the Central and Field Offices explored ways to further strengthen inter-program collaboration on feeding initiatives.

The workshop served as a platform to discuss the current state of hunger and malnutrition in the country and to delve into key procurement concepts and processes under Republic Act No. 12009, or the New Government Procurement Act and the NP-CP approach.

Workshop participants also reviewed the status of the CBOs readiness for engagement, explored existing and potential market linkages, and planned for the 15th and 16th cycles of the SFP implementation.

In 2024, the EPAHP Program successfully linked 136 CBOs to the SFP, with contracts amounting to a total of Php170 million.

The DSWD, as the chair of the EPAHP and IATF-ZH continues to intensify its efforts to strengthen government feeding program through the use of NP-CP.