An in-depth study is not needed to show that millions of Filipinos live in extreme poverty and suffer regularly from involuntary hunger. There are millions more who, while not extremely poor, suffer from undernourishment and malnutrition due to limited spending capability for food.
Lack of proper nutrition has been blamed for physical and mental stunting among Filipinos, which in turn have led to poor performance in school. For several years now, the government has been implementing a supplemental feeding program in grade school, giving children free milk and nutritious meals.
Now the government is planning to augment the program with a food stamp scheme, to cover up to a million poorest of the poor households. The Department of Social Welfare and Development, which will administer the food stamp program, has said about 400,000 beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps who are “food poor” may also qualify for the food stamps.
Inspired by similar programs in other countries such as the United States, the food stamps will be in the form of QR codes, which will be presented when obtaining free food from accredited outlets. To prevent the system from being used for junk food, the beneficiaries can select items only from a list of nutritious food such as vegetables, to be drawn up by the government in consultation with nutritionists.
How to finance the project is still under study. The once-a-month food aid for a million households is estimated to cost P40 billion a year.
Critics have also warned that the program could encourage a culture of mendicancy. They have noted that the 4Ps scheme has barely made a dent in the national poverty rate. The conditional cash transfer program is also not an indefinite welfare scheme, but “graduation” from the program has been slow.
Addressing such concerns, the DSWD has said the period for qualifying for the food stamp program will be limited, possibly to three years. The 4Ps scheme is also under review, with a focus on its lasting impact on poverty.
The impoverished will welcome any assistance in alleviating their hunger. Alongside direct handouts, however, the government can work on other elements that contribute to involuntary hunger and malnutrition, such as food inflation. Government resources are limited, and with so many ongoing subsidy schemes, these resources are already stretched thin.