Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian gave a stern warning against scammers who spread text messages about ‘unclaimed’ cash aid to target vulnerable sectors such as senior citizens.

“We will make sure to prosecute you to the fullest extent ng batas kaya ‘wag na kayong magkakamali na mahuli namin kayo (of the law so don’t make the mistake of getting caught),” Secretary Gatchalian said in an interview.

This warning was made after the Department received from a concerned citizen a report that there is a text message circulating over mobile phone users regarding the alleged ‘unclaimed’ relief allowances for senior citizens and retired business owners.

Secretary Gatchalian mentioned that the Department has mechanisms in place to detect scammers and to prevent any incident of scamming and deception among its clients.

“Para naman sa mga patuloy na gumagawa nyan sisiguraduhin namin dito sa DSWD na mahuhuli at mahuhuli namin kayo (For those scammers, we will make sure that we are able to catch you),” the Secretary added.

He also appealed to the public to not use the name of the Department for deceiving senior citizens, pointing out that such act “is even worst na nananamantala kayo ng mga taong walang kalaban-laban (that you are taking advantage of the vulnerability of individuals).”

Moreover, Secretary Gatchalian reminded the public to be more vigilant and responsible in engaging with unknown individuals over the phone.

“Ito ang babala namin sa publiko na huwag kayong maniniwala sa mga naglalako ng kung ano-anong mga serbisyo na kunwari ay galing sa DSWD (This is our reminder to the public not to believe those who offer services pretending to be from the DSWD),” he said.

The Secretary likewise advised the public to report any suspicious messages they receive to the nearest DSWD office or to any concerned government agencies. He said it is also the obligation of all citizens to verify information from the authorities.

Meanwhile, Secretary Gatchalian reiterated that the Department has no such relief allowance that is being provided to the seniors. However, he said that DSWD implements social pension program for indigent senior citizens and that other financial assistance for individuals in crisis situation, including the said sector, is extended through the Department’s Crisis Intervention Unit (CIU) located at the Central Office and in all Field Offices nationwide. ###

Pinangunahan ni Regional Director Jonathan V. Dirain ang opisyal na pagbubukas ng dalawang linggong selebrasyon ng ika-72 anibersaryo ng DSWD Region 3 bilang bahagi ng makasaysayang paggunita ng pagkakatatag ng Departamento. 

Sa unang araw ay idinaos na ang elimination games para sa mga kalahok sa basketball, volleyball, at badminton. Ipinakilala rin ng mga SWAD ang kanilang mga representate sa Gandang Sportsfest mula sa LGBTQIA+ community. 

“I know everybody is ready to show their athleticism, but the long wait is over. I know all of you are excited to win and get the championship. What is important is how we play sports, it’s how we build camaraderie, teamwork, and friendship and these should translate when we go back to work.” mensahe ni Director Dirain. 

Bukod sa sportsfest, magkakaroon ng iba’t-ibang aktibidad at patimpalak para sa mga empleyado ng kagawaran. Ang pagdiriwang ay mula sa huling linggo ng Pebrero hanggang sa unang linggo ng Marso. 

Bahagi rin ito ng wellness program ng Regional Office para sa kanyang mga manggagawa. ###

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian meets with Bantay Bata 163 representatives for possible partnership in child protection on Monday, February 13, 2023 at the DSWD Central Office.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian met with the representatives of Bantay Bata 163 of the ABS-CBN Foundation to further improve the Department’s initiatives and efforts on child protection on Monday, February 13, 2023, at the DSWD Central Office.

The discussion focused on how to strengthen and enhance the implementation of the Department’s child protection programs and interventions for abused, neglected, and abandoned children, among others.

Currently, the DSWD implements programs for child protection including but not limited to the  Strategic Helpdesks for Information, Education, Livelihood, and other Developmental Interventions or SHIELD against child labor; Unlad Kabataan Program, Supplementary Feeding Program; Recovery and Reintegration Program of Trafficked Persons;  Comprehensive Program for Street Children, Street Families, and Indigenous Peoples especially Sama Bajaus; Residential Care Facilities; and other community-based programs and services addressing children in need of special protection from abuse and exploitation.

Meanwhile, the meeting aimed to partner with other child protection program implementer outside the Department, such as Bantay Bata 163, to supplement the Department’s initiatives and to come up with a total child protection package. The package will target specifically children who are needing temporary shelter and rehabilitation and are admitted in DSWD-run centers and residential care facilities.

The Secretary emphasized that the package should include holistic and integrated approaches, as well as clear pathways for the exit of children from different centers and residential care facilities.

He added that child protection does not stop at putting children, who have been reached out by the Department from difficult circumstances, in the different facilities. They should be prepared for alternative parental care like adoption, foster care, kinship care, or reintegration or independent living, based on the result of the assessment of the case manager.

“Give them a clear pathway to become successful in life,” Secretary Gatchalian said.

The DSWD vowed to partner with non-governmental organizations, such as Bantay Bata 163, to develop mechanisms for child case referral, assessment, and provision of social services, among others, to ensure the protection and development of children who are victims of abuse, exploitation, and neglect.

Bantay Bata 163 is a child welfare program established by the ABS-CBN Foundation to protect disadvantaged and at-risk children through a nationwide network of social services. ###

In its continuing efforts to improve the Agency’s disaster and relief response, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian visited the Philippine Red Cross Operations Center in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, February 15, 2023.

The purpose of the visit was to check the facilities and resources of the Operations Center of the Philippine Red Cross as well as their best practices in deploying immediate response and assistance to people in need, especially the disaster-affected families and individuals.

The Secretary explained that the goal of the visit is to get inputs from existing and notable command centers such as the Philippine Red Cross Operations Center and apply it as the Department is in the process of upgrading its command center.

As soon as he assumed office as the head of the DSWD, enhancing the command center, setting up logistics networks and additional warehouses for relief goods and family food packs in strategic locations, and bringing the private sector in are some of the major thrusts and priorities of Secretary Gatchalian to strengthen the disaster response mechanisms of the Department.

Joining the Secretary during the visit were Undersecretary for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG), Atty. Marco M. Bautista; Assistant Secretary for DRMG, Dr. Diana Rose S. Cajipe; Disaster Response Management Bureau Director Michael Cristopher R. Mathay; and National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau Officer-in-Charge, Corazon L. Macaraeg. ###

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) ranked 3rd under the government service category of the “Philippines’ Best Employers 2023”, a survey and research conducted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer in partnership with Statista, a Hamburg-based market research company.

Overall, the DSWD grabbed 54th place among the top 300 best employers in 2023. The research covered some 100,000 recommendations across 27 industries such as government services; aerospace and defense; banking and financial services; education; healthcare and social, among others.

The result of the ranking is a culmination of an extensive and comprehensive research project which covered thousands of evaluations, opinions from employees, and scores from other companies.

The result showed the DSWD’s positive relationship with its workforce, while maintaining an effective delivery of social protection packages to its clients and stakeholders – the vulnerable, poor, and disadvantaged sectors of society.

With this positive development, the DSWD vowed to continue to undertake efforts that will put a premium on employee wellness and safety. ###

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian observes the features of the newly-launched Finance and Management Service-For Your Information resource site as Director Wayne Belizar provides a walkthrough of the site during the project launch on Tuesday, February 14, 2023.

As a response to the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to digitalize government processes, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through its Finance and Management Service (FMS), launched on Tuesday, February 14, 2023, “FMS-FYI” (Finance and Management Service-For Your Information) page, a resource site that will serve as the repository of all finance and management-related resource of the DSWD.

The FMS-FYI, which was developed in collaboration with the DSWD Information and Communications Technology Management Service (ICTMS), can be accessed by various stakeholders to gather information and knowledge resources such as published news and press releases, copies of speeches and quote cards, photo and video gallery, announcements, downloadable forms, copies of issuances, and standard operating procedures of the FMS.

In his keynote speech, Secretary Rex Gatchalian expressed his support to the digitization initiative. “I am happy that I got invited to a digital push initiated by the FMS itself. From my understanding, this is a homegrown program developed within the Department because we want to comply to the President’s directive to digitalize everything. Whenever I hear homegrown that means you are innovating by yourself,” Secretary Gatchalian said.

“You want to better yourselves, you want to better the improvement in the delivery of services, that is why you made this homegrown FMS system and I’m very, very impressed because the very spirit, is the spirit of innovation, the spirit of wanting to be better than what we are,” the Secretary added.

The DSWD expressed hope that internal staff and other stakeholders will be able to efficiently utilize the FMS-FYI resource site on all DSWD finance-related concerns.

To visit the FMS Resource Site, the public may access it though bit.ly/FMSFYI. ###

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian listens to Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) Chief Resilience Officer Guillermo Luz as he shows information materials published by the PDRF.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian visited the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) Emergency Operations Center at Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga on February 9, 2023.

The Secretary was joined by Undersecretary Eduardo Punay and personnel of the Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) led by Undersecretary Marco Bautista and Assistant Secretary Diana Rose Cajipe.

The purpose of the visit was to check PDRF’s facilities and to provide orientation on the geographical information system (GIS) used by the emergency operations center. The orientation was followed by a short meeting between the DSWD and PDRF officials, led by its President Rene Meily and Chief Resilience Officer Guillermo Luz.

Upon his assumption to office, Secretary Gatchalian expressed his plans to further make DSWD’s disaster management and response efforts more responsive by setting up additional response hub and  spokes, and tapping private partnerships to strengthen the disaster response systems and mechanisms of the Department. ###

Left photo: DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian meets with OCTA Research President Dr. Ranjit Rye to discuss on how to improve social protection packages based on the current data trends. 

 Right photo:  OCTA Research President Dr. Ranjit Rye, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, Undersecretary Eduardo Punay, and OCTA Research Chief Data Scientist Dr. Guido David

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian met with data experts from OCTA Research on Monday, February 13, to recalibrate the Department’s social protection programs and services anchored on the current and latest data trends.

The meeting aimed at making data-driven social protection packages that will resolve the development issues in the Philippines, particularly hunger and poverty problems.

OCTA Research President, Dr. Ranjit Rye and Chief Data Scientist, Dr. Guido David presented significant findings from their surveys that may serve as the basis for crafting and formulating mechanisms and systems for social protection.

The meeting with the OCTA Research Team is in line with the priorities of Secretary Gatchalian to enhance social protection by depending on data.

OCTA research is a team of researchers that makes use of polling to gather insightful data that will be prepped for analysis. ###