The Commission on Appointments (CA) committee on labor, social welfare and migrant workers on Tuesday (May 16) has endorsed the confirmation of former Valenzuela City Congressman Rex Gatchalian as Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) secretary.
This after the CA panel approved Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte’s motion to bring Secretary Gatchalian’s appointment to the CA plenary.
Being a former member of the House of Representatives, the contingents from the Lower House expressed full support to Secretary Gatchalian’s appointment.
The CA panel approved Secretary Gatchalian’s nomination after he responded to queries about his plans for the DSWD.
According to Secretary Gatchalian, he will put premium to the strengthening of the development programs of the Department.
“These development programs are the ones that will break the chain of poverty or the cycle of poverty,” the DWSD chief explained during the CA panel deliberation.
Among the flagship programs that Secretary Gatchalian plans to improve are the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) and the Kapitbisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS), among others.
“Ending poverty is a long game, but there are low lying fruits like ending hunger that we want to look at because these are investments to human capital that we can do immediately. We also want to bring back dignity in getting social welfare by making sure that we streamline the requirements, and that we go digital,” the DSWD secretary explained.
With regard to the social protection side of the DSWD’s operations, Secretary Gatchalian said there are already plans to prioritize the provision of assistance to Families and Individuals in Street Situations (FISS), and the capacity building of social workers in DSWD managed and operated centers and residential care facilities.
Secretary Gatchalian also said that he wants to make sure that all social welfare programs of the DSWD should be targeted, measurable, conditional and has a clear exit mechanism so that the beneficiaries of the DSWD will not slide back to poverty.
In terms of disaster preparedness, he plans to engage with the private sector to mobilize resources during disasters and calamities.
While the Senate members asked questions about his plans for the DSWD, Secretary Gatchalian received the support of Senators Cynthia Villar, Risa Hontiveros, Imee Marcos, JV Ejercito, Grace Poe and Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda.
After the deliberation, CA Majority Leader and Camarines Sur Representative Luis Raymund Villafuerte brought into motion the approval of the ad interim appointment of Secretary Gatchalian as DSWD secretary. #
