Marcos hoping food stamp program to end 4Ps

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. expressed hope on Tuesday that the food stamp program would eventually end the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

In an interview with reporters, Marcos was asked if the food stamp program could terminate the 4Ps. This, as he graced the launch of the program held in Tondo Manila.

"Sana. Ibig sabihin kasi pag kaya na natin itigil 'yan, sasabihin natin ibig sabihin wala ng nangangailangan. Maganda talaga kung maabot natin 'yun. Pero kahit papano kung minsan tinatamaan halimbawa ng bagyo, tinatamaan ng peste, tinatamaan ng kung anu-ano eh kailangan pa rin tulungan," Marcos said.

"'Yung 4Ps eh 'yung pantawid 'yun eh. So kung hindi na kailangan magtawid ibig sabihin may trabaho na, may kaya na ang tao, kahit man lang mapakain ang sarili, ang pamilya, sana umabot tayo sa ganoon," he added.

Marcos said in his speech that poverty alleviation is the "ultimate goal" of his administration by the end of 2028.

“We have always tried to rise up from the throes of poverty but the problem of hunger and malnutrition still remains. And that’s why it has become a priority of this government that we will fight all the poverty. We will put in all the programs so that one day we can say that we are able to give our people, at the very least, the food that they need to survive, the nutrition that they need to survive,” Marcos said.

“That is the dream of this administration. That is what we are hoping to achieve in this administration, that by the end of 2028, we can say that we have done everything to reduce the hunger and poverty in our country, and to be able to be sure that we can provide a good, healthy, and productive life for our people,” he added.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development pilot tested the food stamp program to 50 food-poor families, including pregnant women and lactating moms in Manila.

The FSP aims to provide electronic benefit transfers that will be loaded with food credits amounting to P3,000 to purchase a select list of food commodities from DSWD accredited local retailers.

It also intends to target the bottom one million households from “Listahanan 3” who belong to the food poor criteria as defined by the Philippine Statistics Authority.—LDF, GMA Integrated News