The sky is often the limit as to what parents can endure just to show their love for their children. This has been the story of Revine Carl Malco and his wife Erica, who never gave up on their sickly son, in miracles and in the good of others — even at such a point they were told their bundle of joy may not make it to his first birthday. As recalled by Revine, their son Reverie was just a month old ever since he has gone in and out of the hospital and was diagnosed with “Biliary Atresia,” a […]

Tides turn like they always do. And when the turning force came bringing with it the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Project LAWA and BINHI to the coastal communities of Paypayon and Mabuhay in the town of Oras in Eastern Samar, the towns folk made sure it would create more crests than just another passing wave. By rolling up their sleeves, tilling the forgotten soil, and building crab cages, the Oras townsfolk were able to boost their livelihood in full embrace of government aid that reached out to them. But this time, it was more than a quest […]

Edward Bonus was 19 years old when he lost his mother to brain cancer. From that day on, he never realized he could again feel a mother’s love until Aling Dionisia, the mother of his wife, became his mother-in-law and treated him like her own son. “Simula po nang pumasok ako sa pamilya nila, hindi na po ako naging iba. Parang siya na po ‘yung pangalawang magulang ko,” Edward Bonus said in an interview aired over the fifth episode of the AICS Chronicles, an online documentary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)’s Strategic Communications. They may not […]

For Mary Joyce Martinez, a mother of five from Talim Island in Rizal, each day means stretching every penny they had just to put food on the table. Dreams of becoming someone her children could look up to or a neighbor her community could count on was once a quiet hope, often blurred by the noise of daily hardships and quest for survival. But in 2013, lady luck smiled on them. Her family became part of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)— the flagship poverty-alleviation program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). What started as support for […]

Artemio Bautista, known to many as Art, always thought his name would lead him to a life of painting and drawing. With a passion for the arts, he dreamt of becoming a Fine Arts student but as it turned out, fate had other plans for him. Being a social worker wasn’t part of his dream. He never imagined that he would be working in the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Art came from a family of soldiers. His father, grandfather, and brother all served in the military, naturally leading him to consider a career in the Armed Forces […]

Coffee lovers, how do you like your coffee? Some people like it hot. Others prefer it iced. Some crave its strong and bitter taste or love it with lots of sugar and cream. But for Rodiyo Tacdoy of Benguet province, a former monitored child of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), a coffee is more than just a drink as he took the La Trinidad-grown coffee to the next level. Proof to this was when Rodiyo Tacdoy was able to sell his special coffee beans for a hefty price of Php9,900 per kilo during the Philippine Coffee Quality Competition (PCQC) […]

Some say cancer is a journey in which the afflicted walks the road alone. In the case of Presildo Abuke, he undertakes the journey with his stage 4 lung cancer in the company of his family and with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) within his reach. A former family driver, Presildo has been fighting the disease for 7 years now, a serious ailment he believes to have been caused by excessive drinking and chain smoking during his younger days. Through the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program, Presildo is able to receive assistance to […]

In the rustic farmlands of Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija, an age-old Filipino tradition is taking root once more through the collective spirit of communal unity and cooperation – Bayanihan, as most people know. According to Melanie Barnachea, the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer (MSWDO) of Cuyapo, the resurgence of the Bayanihan spirit did not happen overnight. It was through the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Project LAWA (Local Adaptation to Water Access) and BINHI (Breaking Insufficiency through Nutritious Harvest for the Impoverished) that helped their community to rekindle the spirit of helping each other. “Isa po dun sa […]

There is never an easy way to say goodbye to a departed loved one. The grief and pain can be crushing beyond words— and for many Filipinos living from paycheck to paycheck, it is made even heavier by the financial weight of hospital bills, medication, and funeral expenses. Yet even in those grim, heart-shattering moments, every bereaved family wishes nothing but to express their love, respect, and care for those who have passed on. But what happens when love alone is not enough to cover the piling cost of a proper farewell? This is where the Department of Social Welfare […]