The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) welcomes the current administration’s budget of more than P196 billion for its implementation of social protection programs and services.

The DSWD vows to judiciously utilize the budget for the operations of its programs which include the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP), Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SocPen), Protective Services for Individuals and Families in Difficult Circumstances (PSIFDC), and programs for disaster response, among others.

Under the new leadership of DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, the Department will also prioritize streamlining of services and digitization as directed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to ensure the fast and efficient delivery of social welfare and development programs for the poor, marginalized, and vulnerable sectors. ###

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) thanked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for its timely release of funds worth more than P151 billion for the implementation of social protection programs and services.

The timely release of the funds will redound to the benefit of the poor and vulnerable sectors as they will continue to receive the much-needed government assistance.

The DSWD vowed to judiciously utilize the budget for the operations of its major social protection programs which include the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP), and Protective Services for Individuals and Families in Difficult Circumstances (PSIFDC).

Under the new leadership of DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, the Department will also prioritize streamlining of services and digitization as directed by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to ensure the fast and efficient delivery of social welfare and development programs for the poor, marginalized, and vulnerable sectors. ###

In line with its role as the focal agency representing the Philippines to the ASEAN Sectoral Body on Social Welfare and Development, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is set to host the ASEAN Inter-Sectoral Consultation for the Finalization of two outcome documents on February 7 and 8, 2023, in cooperation with the ASEAN Social Work Consortium, the ASEAN Secretariat and with support from UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office

These  documents are the Regional Guidance on Strengthening the Role of Social Workers and the Wider Social Service Workforce in Health; and the Regional Guidance on Strengthening the Role of Social Workers and the Wider Social Service Workforce in the Justice System.

The virtual consultation will provide an opportunity to feedback and further gather inputs from ASEAN Member States, relevant ASEAN Sectoral Bodies and other international partners to enhance and finalize the regional guidance. Likewise, the consultation will address challenges and discuss opportunities to strengthen roles, competencies and capacities of social work, and the wider social service workforce in the health sector and justice system.

On the other hand, the regional guidance will be a significant document that will assist policy makers, managers, government officials, and the whole social welfare and development sector in ASEAN Member States (AMS) in planning, developing and supporting social workers and the wider social service workforce. It will be essential to the delivery of inclusive, accessible, multidisciplinary and responsive social services to raise quality of life, as well as in responding to the needs of the vulnerable and marginalized sectors of the society.

Pursuant to its commitment, the Department will continue to support activities of the ASEAN to foster camaraderie and international solidarity. ###

Following his appointment as the new head of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Secretary Rex Gatchalian met with the undersecretaries of the Agency on his first day, on Wednesday, February 1, 2023 where he was briefed on the operations of the Department as well as on the programs and services being implemented.

As the new Secretary of the Department, he also initially laid out his major priorities that he wants to focus on such as the digitalization of the systems, processes, and programs and services of the DSWD. He also mentioned his plan on cleansing the database of beneficiaries to ensure that deserving and eligible families and individuals will be served.

Furthermore, Secretary Gatchalian also plans to set up logistics networks and additional warehouses for relief goods and family food packs in strategic locations in the country that are closer to the people, to provide immediate and prompt assistance to the families that will be affected by disasters and calamities. This, he said, is also in line with the directive of the Chief Executive, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

His first order of the day was to do away with formalities and to make things happen in a timely manner.

To allay the fears of personnel, Secretary Gatchalian gave his assurance that the existing structure will remain, emphasizing that he is willing to work with the present workforce of the Department.

Meanwhile, briefing sessions on the functions and key results areas of the different offices, bureaus, services and units (OBSUs), as well as the different Field Offices of the Department will continue in the days ahead.  The new Secretary will also make the rounds of the OBSUs, meet with the staff, and familiarize himself within the DSWD premises. He is also set to meet the Regional Directors of the Department next week.

Secretary Gatchalian was appointed by President Marcos, Jr. and took his oath of office on January 31, 2023.

The entire DSWD workforce has expressed their full support to the new Secretary. ###

Newly appointed Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian outlined his major thrusts and priorities to improve the quality of service of the Agency for the poor and the vulnerable sectors, during his first press briefing on Friday, February 3, at the DSWD Central Office.

To better serve the clients, Secretary Gatchalian said that he will focus on further streamlining and digitizing the systems and processes of the programs and services being implemented by the Department.

Food stamps: aid with dignity

The Secretary also stressed that the priority is to address hunger in the fight against poverty. Secretary Gatchalian added the idea is to locate those in need and provide them food stamps, instead of food boxes, to avoid lining up in adverse conditions.

The Secretary, however, stressed that the concept is still being developed.

Strengthening systems and communication initiatives

Furthermore, Secretary Gatchalian also plans to set up logistics networks for relief goods and family food packs in strategic locations, even in the smallest and farthest areas in the country to provide immediate and prompt assistance to the families that will be affected by disasters and calamities. He also mentioned bringing the private sector in to help and contribute to the Department’s disaster preparedness and response operations.

To combat misinformation and to guarantee that clients and stakeholders will receive accurate and credible information, Secretary Gatchalian plans to strengthen the communication efforts of the DSWD by setting up BOT or automated software in the official communication channels of the Agency that will give real-time updates and announcements from the Department. He added that it is important to create a culture where the public will only rely on relevant and official channels for their source of information.

The Secretary also plans to visit the different Centers and Residential Care Facilities (CRCFs) of the DSWD to ensure that residents are being well taken care of and that there are enough social workers, house parents, and medical professionals to assist them.

The new head of the Department reiterated that he will work with the existing and competent workforce of the Department to ensure that the services of the DSWD will not be hampered.

Lastly, the Secretary said that the Department is currently working on perfecting the ideas/concept for the new programs and assured the media that he will share them once finalized. ###

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Officer-in-Charge Eduardo M. Punay (2nd from left) and UP Law Center Dean Edgardo Carlo Vistan II (2nd from right), together with DSWD Operations Group Undersecretary Jerico Francis Javier (left) and Department of Foreign Affairs – Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs Assistant Secretary Roussel Reyes (right), present the signed Memorandum of Agreement on the implementation of the Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance right after the agreement signing on Monday, January 30 at the UP Diliman College of Law.

In its continuing efforts to protect the welfare of every Filipino child, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) forged a partnership with the University of the Philippines (UP) Law Center on the implementation of the Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance.

The partnership was sealed through the ceremonial signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on January 30, 2023 at the UP Diliman College of Law. The MOA was signed by DSWD Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Eduardo M. Punay and UP Law Center Dean Edgardo Carlo Vistan II and was witnessed by DSWD Operations Group Undersecretary Jerico Francis Javier and Department of Foreign Affairs – Office of Treaties and Legal Affairs Assistant Secretary Roussel Reyes.

The Convention aims to ensure the effective international recovery of child support and other forms of family maintenance by providing a system of close coordination and cooperation between contracting parties around the world; better access to cross-border maintenance procedures through services and any free legal assistance; and expedited and simplified procedures for recognition and enforcement, among others. Furthermore, it will facilitate the applications of individuals seeking child support, and to a limited basis, spousal support from foreign parents or spouses, as well as the efficient recognition and enforcement of support decisions even if rendered by foreign courts.

Through the Convention, Filipino families may seek assistance from DSWD, as the Central Authority of the Philippines, to locate their foreign or Filipino spouses residing abroad to obtain support for their child or children. Likewise, foreign nationals may also ask for assistance, through their respective Central Authority, to locate their Filipino or non-Filipino spouses, if alleged here in the Philippines, to provide support for their child or children.

In his message during the signing ceremony, OIC Punay expressed the Department’s gratitude to the UP Law Center and stated the importance of the implementation of the Child Support Convention. He said, “With this Convention in place, we will be able to assist the families to locate, apply, process, and claim child support for the left-behind child or children from his or her foreign parent or Filipino parent residing outside the Philippines.”

For his part, Dean Edgardo Carlo Vistan II, said, “As I also welcome you all to the signing ceremony, allow me to assure you, our colleagues in the DSWD as well as in the DFA, that as we enter into this partnership, we are ready and eager to roll up our sleeves and begin the work with you to ensure that the needs and the best interest of children all over the world are addressed,” he said.

As the designated Central Authority of the Philippines, the DSWD shall transmit and receive applications from the “creditor” or the family requesting child support, and from the “debtor” or the legally obliged provider; initiate or facilitate the institution of proceedings of the applications; and shall provide assistance in locating the debtor or the creditor, obtaining documentary requirements, collecting and transferring the provided support, among others.

Meanwhile, the UP Law Center will provide assistance on the applications requiring legal assessment and advice; obtaining documentary requirements or other evidence; and facilitating the ongoing enforcement of maintenance decisions, including any arrears, as well as collection and expeditious transfers of maintenance payments.

The DSWD vowed to continue to make a difference in the lives of poor and disadvantaged Filipinos, especially vulnerable families and their children. ###

Some of the victim-survivors of child labor who were identified and provided with various interventions in Carcar City, Cebu Province by DSWD-Field Office VII through the Strategic Help Desks for Information, Education, Livelihood, and other Developmental Interventions or SHIELD Against Child Labor.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through its Strategic Help Desks for Information, Education, Livelihood, and other Developmental Interventions or SHIELD Against Child Labor, identified some 1,400 victim-survivors of child labor in 2022 and provided them with services and interventions that are suitable to their needs.

Through the SHIELD program, the identified child laborers were provided with holistic and immediate interventions at the community level including the provision of educational assistance from the DSWD and case referrals to other government agencies.

The program implementers from the different DSWD-Field Offices are using multi-layered strategies under the SHIELD program to help address child labor, particularly its worst forms. The components of this program include the establishment of helpdesks at the barangay level and a local registry system on child labor for referral and convergence of support services, ensuring that immediate and appropriate interventions are available at hand.

Meanwhile, the DSWD continues the implementation of the SHIELD Against Child Labor across all regions of the Philippines to assist child laborers and as part of its efforts to help eliminate child labor in the country.

This community-based project, which was pilot tested in 2017, is now institutionalized and is being implemented in 16 DSWD Field Offices throughout the country since 2021. The Field Offices will directly collaborate with their partner local government units in the implementation of SHIELD against Child Labor in their areas to further expand the scope of the program

Through the initiatives of the SHIELD against Child Labor, the DSWD is committed to protect children from becoming victims of child labor. ###