President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (center, front row) poses for pictures with winners of the “Walang Gutom Awards” in Malacañang on Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (Picture from MPC Pool)
MANILA, Philippines — The dream legacy of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is to end hunger in the country.
Marcos announced on Wednesday his administration’s commitment during the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Galing Pook Foundation’s “Walang Gutom Awards” (WGA) held in Malacañang.
READ: Marcos wants to eliminate hunger in PH by 2028
During his speech, Marcos recalled an interview he had during his third day of office in the Palace, where he was asked, “what would you want to be your legacy for your presidency?”
“The answer came to me in an instant: ‘wala nang gutom na Filipino’ (no more hungry Filipino)—that is my dream,” said Marcos.
“A noble cause we can possibly have is to make sure that every single Filipino, each of whom we love like a family member, never again feel the pangs of hunger… and if we can achieve that, then I think we can claim to have led a good life,” he added.
According to Marcos, hunger remains a crisis in the country, citing a study by the DSWD.
The study showed that nearly 12 percent of three million families continue to experience hunger at least once in the last three months of 2022.
It also indicated that one in three Filipino children under five years old suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition.
However, Marcos still expressed optimism that the country can address hunger as he recognized existing government measures and contributions of non-government organizations (NGOs), international agencies and social workers.
READ: Marcos says gov’t remains committed to eliminate hunger in PH
He also called on local government units (LGUs), private sector and international partners, as well as NGOs to “work together as a united front, and become ‘walang gutom’ (no hunger) advocates.”
Walang Gutom Awards
The WGA aims to honor and replicate the best practices of local government units (LGUs) to attain food security and provide adequate nutrition.
The winners are as follows:
Barangay level
Barangay Commonwealth, Quezon City
Barangay Naggasican, Santiago City
Municipal level
Asuncion, Davao Del Norte
Palompon, Leyte
Bacnotan, La Union
City level
Kidapawan City, Cotabato
Bago City, Negros
Cadiz City, Negros Occidental
Mati City, Davao Oriental;
Provincial level
Biliran
The winning LGUs will receive a P2 million funding allocation from the DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Program.
Marcos called on other LGUs to assess the nominees’ and the winners’ programs to “see how and why their programs work.”
He also urged them to examine whether or not it can be applied to their own communities.
“The national government will also be taking notes to see what more can be done at the national level,” he said.