By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
As part of the government’s campaign to alleviate poverty and ensure that no Filipino goes hungry, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. led the launch of the second Walang Gutom Kitchen facility in the Philippines on Monday.
In his walkthrough around the new facility, he was accompanied by Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian in overseeing the operations of the community-based food bank in Cebu.
President Marcos Jr. also engaged with beneficiaries, as well as participated in the distribution of meals to walk-in clients and those eligible under the agency’s Walang Gutom Program.
Breakfast service begins at 6 a.m., while lunch is served starting at 11 a.m.
The Cebu facility complements the first kitchen in Pasay City that opened its doors to beneficiaries in December 2024.
On flood mitigation
At the sidelines of his visit to the Cebu branch of the Walang Gutom Kitchen, President Marcos Jr. also led the inspection of the ongoing rehabilitation of the Mananga River flood mitigation structure in Talisay City.
The retaining walls collapsed during the onslaught of Typhoon Tino in November 2025, which caused extensive damage to communities adjacent to the waterway.
Such was part of the government’s Oplan Kontra Baha program in Central Visayas, which aims to prevent communities from suffering the same devastation caused by weather systems and perennial flooding over and over again.
Funds for the rehabilitation and the construction of a 70-meter dam along the Mananga River that will benefit the barangays of San Isidro, Lawaan II, Mohon, Dumlog, at Biasong were included in the National Expenditure Program for 2027.
The President told the media, “So, patuloy lang and we will continue to come, we will continue to build, we will continue to repair, and may plano tayo para sa next year para eh doon na natin haharangin sa taas ‘yung tubig para hindi na natin poproblemahin, masyadong problemahin dito sa baba.”
A new drainage system and the implementation of a “No Build Zone” in critical areas along the waterway round up the ongoing rehabilitation works along the Mananga River.
On easing transportation bottlenecks
Capping off his Cebu visit, President Marcos Jr. was accompanied by Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon and other key officials as he inspected the rehabilitation of a certain stretch of the Metro Cebu Expressway (MCE).
Surrounded by heavy machinery working around the clock to accelerate the completion of the project, the President witnessed the operations of the construction crew as they laid down slope stabilization and protection works, drainage improvements, and a creek rehabilitation along MCE Segment 3A in Naga City.
Once completed, this road segment is expected to slash travel time between Barangay Pangdan and Naga Valley Industrial Park from 25 minutes to 10 minutes.
The improvements made to these infrastructure projects underscore the government’s seriousness in its quest to create resilient and dependable structures that would benefit constituents for years to come.
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