Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian has instructed the agency’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) to be on alert status and ready to provide assistance and resource augmentation to all local government units (LGUs) along the track of Tropical Depression (TD) Kristine. “We have to make sure Field Offices  1 and 2 and CAR’s stockpiles are in full strength,” Secretary Gatchalian told the DRMG group on Sunday (October 20), emphasizing that TD Kristine has the same track as Super Typhoon Carina that severely battered Northern Luzon in July. Secretary Gatchalian also ordered the National Resource Operations […]

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has successfully conducted re-engagement activities dubbed ‘Kamustahan’ validation and assessment for 1,400 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) decommissioned combatants (DCs) in Davao Region, a senior agency official reported on Monday (October 21). Organized by the office of Inclusive-Sustainable Peace and Special Concerns (ISPSC) Undersecretary Alan Tanjusay, the re-engagement activities were carried out from October 7 to 11 through house-to-house visits to monitor the status of the DCs in their reintegration into their respective communities and families. “These re-engagement activities are conducted to ensure those who were given the Php100,000 transitory cash assistance […]

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) underscored the importance of leveraging on a cross-agency collaboration toward a more comprehensive national disaster response at the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) held from October 14 to 17 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). “Integrated efforts are essential in addressing complex challenges and mitigating the impacts of crises. The role of social welfare and national disaster authorities is crucial in fostering resilience, ensuring that communities are better prepared and more capable of recovery,” DSWD Undersecretary Vilma Cabrera said during the session titled “Leveraging a Whole of Government Approach,” held […]

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) vowed to provide necessary assistance to indigenous peoples (IPs) who traditionally roam around Metro Manila and nearby urban areas during the holiday seasons. DSWD-MIMAROPA Regional Director Leonardo Reynoso said providing interventions may prevent them from going to Metro Manila and will ensure their safety from the dangers on the streets. “Alam po natin na hindi naman pinagbabawal ang pagbabyahe pero para hindi po sila mapakahamak ay, tama po kayo, kinakailangan na mayroon po tayong ibibigay na programa para sa kanila para nang sa ganoon ay hindi na sila pumarito sa Maynila,” Regional […]

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported on Friday (October 18) that 9,116 families from the Bicol Region have already benefited from the Walang Gutom Program (WGP). According to DSWD Field Office 5 – Bicol Region WGP Coordinator Sherryl Lofamia, these beneficiaries are from the provinces of Sorsogon and Camarines Sur who have already claimed their electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards from August to September this year. “Each household-beneficiary was able to utilize Php3,000 worth of food credits. With these, they were able to put healthy meals on the table,” WGP Coordinator Lofamia said in an interview with […]

The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Field Office (FO)-MIMAROPA emphasized that in times of disasters, the FO has protocols in place for a multidimensional disaster response to ensure that those affected are able to recover and resume their normal lives. DSWD-MIMAROPA Regional Director Leonardo Reynoso affirmed this during the DSWD’s Thursday Media Forum held last October 17, citing his FO employed this approach during the oil spill incident in Oriental Mindoro in February 2023. “Matatandaan po natin na nagkaroon ng oil spill sa karagatan po na malapit sa bayan ng Naujan noong February 28, 2023. Pero March 3, […]

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao is among the government officials who welcomed the 45 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and two minor dependents as they arrived  on Thursday (October 17) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport  (NAIA) Terminal 1 following their repatriation from conflict-torn Lebanon. DSWD social workers were also at the airport to hand out the agency’s initial assistance of Php20,000 to each of the 45 repatriates, on top of the Php150,000 cash aid from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW). The DSWD social workers also interviewed the OFWs to further determine their needs […]

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian joins other representatives of the Philippine and Australian governments at the launching of the Australia-Philippine Development Partnership Plan (DPP) 2024-2029 on Thursday (October 17) at the Makati Shangri-La. Under the DPP, Australia’s development partnership with the Philippines will focus on supporting stability as a foundation for development, bolstering inclusive and sustainable economic growth; and increasing institutional and community resilience to social, economic, and climate-related shocks by working with the Philippine government, institutions, and communities. In a Facebook post, Secretary Gatchalian said the DSWD has benefited enormously from the social protection […]

Another partnership is set to boost the initiatives of Pag-abot Program as Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian confers with representatives of the Academe Foundation of the Villavicencio Family led by Executive Director Sachie Reyes on Wednesday (October 16) at the DSWD Central Office in Quezon City. During the foundation representatives’ courtesy call, they expressed their willingness to support the Pag-abot program by providing food and extending scholarship opportunities for the reached out children and youth in street situations and placed under the DSWD’s centers and residential care facilities (CRCFs). The DSWD chief together with Assistant […]