President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., chairman of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, has approved the enhanced Food Stamp Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) (formerly NEDA), in a statement said the NEDA Board, during its final meeting before changing into the Economy and Development (ED) Council on April 23, gave the thumbs up for the Reducing Food Insecurity and Undernutrition with Electronic Vouchers (REFUEL) Project.

Pursuant to the Republic Act No. 12145 or the Economy, Planning, and Development Act, which reorganized NEDA into DEPDev, the NEDA Board will be changed into the ED Council, which will still be headed by the President.

Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said by approving the REFUEL project, the government demonstrates its unwavering commitment to fight food insecurity and undernutrition.

He added that the program reflects a renewed focus toward ending involuntary hunger, uplifting vulnerable communities, and promoting resilience through smart, nutrition-sensitive social protection.d

The REFUEL project is an enhancement of the former Philippine Food Strategic Transfer and Alternative Measures Program (STAMP) spearheaded by the DSWD.

The program will remain under the “Walang Gutom” 2027 Food Stamp Program as one of the flagship programs of the Marcos administration.

The agency said the project will scale up the implementation of the Walang Gutom Program for 2025 to 2028, targeting 750,0000 food-insecure households identified from the DSWD’s Listahanan 3 database, while still covering the same set of beneficiaries from the former Philippine Food STAMP.

According to the 2023 National Nutrition Survey of the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute, three in every 10 Filipino households experience moderate to severe food insecurity and three out of every 100 households face severe food insecurity.

“The project’s goal is to strengthen our shock-responsive social protection systems by ensuring the timely delivery of food vouchers to Filipinos in need, particularly those facing hunger and nutritional challenges in the face of increasing climate and disaster risks,” said Balisacan.

REFUEL will be implemented from July 2025 to July 2028, following the pilot rollout of the former Philippine Food STAMP late last year.

The project is estimated to cost P74.6 billion, which will be funded by the Asian Development Bank, Agence Française de Développement, and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Fund for International Development.