MANILA -- The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board approved a measure that aims to enhance the government's food stamp program to fight hunger.

NEDA said its Board, chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. approved the Reducing Food Insecurity and Undernutrition with Electronic Vouchers (REFUEL) Project, which aims to address food insecurity and undernutrition.

“The program reflects a renewed focus toward ending involuntary hunger, uplifting vulnerable communities, and promoting resilience through smart, nutrition-sensitive social protection,” said NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

REFUEL is spearheaded by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and remains under the Walang Gutom (Zero Hunger) 2027 Food Stamp Program as one of the flagship programs of the Marcos Administration, NEDA said.

The project will scale up the implementation of the Walang Gutom Program for 2025-2028, 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, NEDA said.

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

“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,” Balisacan said.

The P74.6-billion project will be implemented from July 2025 to July 2028 with funding coming from the Asian Development Bank, Agence Française de Développement, and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Fund for International Development.