Sector: Social Welfare and Social Protection

Status

The DSWD recognizes that there is an urgent need to address issues of poverty in the country and to provide what social protection services it can to lessen some of the impact of poverty on the lives and welfare of Filipinos.  We take our cue from the results of the latest SWS survey wherein it’s stated how 13.7% or an estimated 3.1 million families experienced involuntary hunger during the first quarter of the year. This is slightly above the 11.7% (estimated 2.6 million families) recorded in December 2015.

It has been noted that there has been a sharp increase of hunger incidence in Mindanao, with 978,000 families (19 percent) claiming to have gone hungry in the last three months. It was a six-percent rise from 13 percent (658,000) in December.

The DSWD also takes its cue from statistics that point out how the number of underemployed and discouraged workers continues to increase. The latest January data show that employment increased from 38.4 million in January 2015, to 39.2 million in January 2016.

The recently conducted nationwide assessment under the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS PR) showed that there are 5.1 million poor households with the following conditions:

– Children constitute 15.1 million of 52.7 percent of the total targeted poor population. Of the 10.7 million children aged five to 17 years old, 215,244 reported having an occupation.
– Most of these children (123,578) are laborers and unskilled workers.
– Of the 28.7 million and individuals, 48.4 percent or 13.9 million are women, while 51.6 percent or 14.8 million are men.
– Fisherfolk, farmers, and foresters comprise about 2.8 million or 17.9 percent of the 15.5 million targeted poor individuals belonging to the labor force or those aged 15 years old and above. The majority (53 percent or 8.2 million) reported having no occupation at the time of the assessment.
– Senior citizens comprise 4.2 percent or 1.2 million individuals.
– One point one percent of the total target poor population of 313,574 are persons with disability.
– Eight out of 10 or 76.6 percent of the targeted poor households reside in rural areas, while two out of 10 or 23.4 percent live in urban areas.

Issues, Challenges, and Interventions
Given this context, the focus of the DSWD is to continue and improve all its social protection programs so it can use its resources and expertise to make a dent in the country’s poverty levels. What we want is to genuinely reduce vulnerabilities, build resiliency, and empower individuals, families and communities. Much work has to be done to ensure this given the status of the country’s increasing poverty levels and the  massive number of unemployed and underemployed Filipinos who have very little access to social services such as health, housing, and education.

Strengthen Mechanisms
The DSWD also aims to strengthen and improve its processes and mechanisms to address the needs of survivors of natural disasters and calamities. The Philippines regularly experiences natural calamities because of its geographical location, so there is a need to adapt and innovate so it can provide the help that survivors needed as soon as possible even in the farthest reaches of the country.

Increased Coordination
We will continue to coordinate with concerned agencies and partners to ensure effective response, early recovery, and provision of complementary support services.

Improve Self-Reliance of Filipino Families
After seven years of the implementation of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) scheme, the scheme and its implementing program the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino is under review and its gains and weaknesses are being assessed. What the DSWD seeks to do is to help the reported 1.5 million beneficiaries of the program to become independent and self-reliant after they have graduated from the program. We aim to present them with other forms of assistance so they can stand on their feet.

In connection with this, the DSWD plans to provide rice subsidies to the poorest Filipino families at 40 kilograms per household. Next year, efforts will be made to provide rice subsidies based on available funds every month to the same families.

Improve the Status of Centers
Another concrete measure we want to implement is the improvement of the DSWD’s centers and institutions given that most if not all of them are in a sorry state. They are poorly funded and severely understaffed, and much has to be done to improve their facilities, increase subsidies for their clients, and improve the working conditions of their staff so they can be fully capable of providing the services they are meant to over the vulnerable sectors of children, women, persons with disabilities, and senior citizens.

Affirming Commitment to Public Service
When it comes to the matter of governance, the DSWD needs to undergo a thorough-going assessment and review when it comes to financial records and spending. As part of the transition process at DSWD, a comprehensive review of the financial system is being considered to evaluate its efficiency and effectiveness in implementing the DSWD’s programs, including the CCT. As a department of the government, we re-affirm our commitment as custodian of public resources and utilize same solely for the people’s interests.

At the same time, the welfare of the personnel – the rank and file of the DSWD in the Central Office, the Field Offices, and all its adjunct offices – should be improved. We have begun to implement steps to fill all vacant plantilla positions and to ensure that the large number of contractual or “memorandum of agreement” employees who have worked and stayed with the DSWD for years on end are given regular status and the benefits that come with it.

It is also necessary for the DSWD to implement a review of standards; this particularly concerns the accreditation process it implements when it comes to its civil society and non-government organization partners.  In the meantime, to ensure the effective and speedy delivery of service, the DSWD will improve its processes when it comes to screening beneficiaries and releasing the assistance that they need. There is a very conscious effort to cut red tape in the processing of documents so we can provide help to the poorest of the poor as soon as possible.

Eradicating red-tape
Concretely, we will follow to the letter the instructions of the president to reduce requirements and the processing time of all applications, from the submission to the release. We will remove redundant requirements and compliance with one department or agency will be accepted as sufficient.  We will also comply with the president’s order to refrain from changing and bending the rules of government contracts, transactions and projects already approved and awaiting implementation.

Strengthening Partnerships
Finally, it is also important for the DSWD to strengthen its relationship with civil society organizations, non-government organizations, multi-party and international groups so we can coordinate on efforts that will result in the implementation of programs and reforms that will directly benefit the poor in the short term, and contribute to their struggle to become economically independent in the long-run.

Legislative Efforts
The DSWD will look into legislative proposals to improve mechanisms of monitoring, managing, and implementing disaster response, relief, and alleviation programs with a financial component. ###