DSWD: 'Food stamp' to remove dependency on assistance
Published Jun 4, 2023 11:48 am
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is modifying the food stamp program to empower beneficiaries and encourage their active participation in nation-building.
(DSWD / MB Visual Content Group) Undersecretary Edu Punay said DSWD is currently designing a food program to lessen people's reliance on government assistance. Once finalized, beneficiaries will be required to participate in government job-creation programs and demonstrate that they are actively seeking employment. "We want them to enroll in training programs of DOLE [Department of Labor and Employment] and TESDA [Technical Education and Skills Development Authority] so that we can capacitate them to stand on their own," Punay said in an interview on radio dzBB on Sunday. "While we're helping them with their food requirements, maybe what we can help them with is food, buying food - they should just use their fare to TESDA, to DOLE, and job search—that's the target of this program," Punay said in Filipino. Punay explained that another important aspect of the food stamp program is the system that allows participants to withdraw from the program. "Of course, there is no forever, right? We don't want to be left forever on aid. The government has limited resources, so it is necessary, we maximize and make use of our resources to help our poor get out of poverty. That's why our target exit program here is that they graduate after three to four years once they get out of the poverty line," Punay added in Filipino. DOLE hosts job fairs and runs a community-based emergency employment program that helps people find temporary work for a period ranging from ten to thirty days. Meanwhile, TESDA provides vocational and skills development training for Filipinos, particularly those who have not had the opportunity to attend college. Earlier this year, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian indicated that the program would be pilot-tested in the second half of the year. "We have to make sure that iyong konteksto ng programa will be designed na naaangkop sa bawat lugar," Gatchalian said. The DSWD has chosen five pilot sites: one in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), a former conflict zone; one in geographically isolated regions or provinces; one in urban poverty; one in calamity-stricken areas; and one in rural poverty. *(Rhowen Del Rosario)*
(DSWD / MB Visual Content Group) Undersecretary Edu Punay said DSWD is currently designing a food program to lessen people's reliance on government assistance. Once finalized, beneficiaries will be required to participate in government job-creation programs and demonstrate that they are actively seeking employment. "We want them to enroll in training programs of DOLE [Department of Labor and Employment] and TESDA [Technical Education and Skills Development Authority] so that we can capacitate them to stand on their own," Punay said in an interview on radio dzBB on Sunday. "While we're helping them with their food requirements, maybe what we can help them with is food, buying food - they should just use their fare to TESDA, to DOLE, and job search—that's the target of this program," Punay said in Filipino. Punay explained that another important aspect of the food stamp program is the system that allows participants to withdraw from the program. "Of course, there is no forever, right? We don't want to be left forever on aid. The government has limited resources, so it is necessary, we maximize and make use of our resources to help our poor get out of poverty. That's why our target exit program here is that they graduate after three to four years once they get out of the poverty line," Punay added in Filipino. DOLE hosts job fairs and runs a community-based emergency employment program that helps people find temporary work for a period ranging from ten to thirty days. Meanwhile, TESDA provides vocational and skills development training for Filipinos, particularly those who have not had the opportunity to attend college. Earlier this year, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian indicated that the program would be pilot-tested in the second half of the year. "We have to make sure that iyong konteksto ng programa will be designed na naaangkop sa bawat lugar," Gatchalian said. The DSWD has chosen five pilot sites: one in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), a former conflict zone; one in geographically isolated regions or provinces; one in urban poverty; one in calamity-stricken areas; and one in rural poverty. *(Rhowen Del Rosario)*