The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) certifies eligibility for for duty exempt importation (DEI) to non-government organizations (NGOs) as part of the agency’s regulatory services to individuals and groups engaged in social welfare service delivery across the country, a DSWD official said on Friday (March 28). This process, according to Director Megan Therese Manahan of the DSWD’s Standards Bureau (SB), is among the services that was digitalized with the recent launch of the Harmonized Electronic License and Permit Systems (HELPS). The HELPS serves as a virtual one-stop-shop to all of the agency’s regulatory services for social welfare and […]

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian has emphasized that the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) and the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation are social welfare programs that are need-driven and not just arbitrarily given to anyone. “Itong AICS at AKAP, they fall under our social welfare program. Yung social welfare o ang tulong pinansyal laging may reason yan, is it medical, is it burial, is it for transportation ‘yung mga balik probinsya, is it for food? Kasi yan yung mga isyu na tinatalakay natin. So, hindi siya ‘yung konsepto na pupunta ka, hihingi […]

Some 25 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries from the town of Sta. Ana, Cagayan, who are also members of an indigenous group, received Php375,000-worthof livelihood supplies from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to support their local fish processing business. The livelihood assistance is part of the Enhanced Support Services Intervention (ESSI) under the 4Ps. The ESSI provides a menu of projects and services geared at addressing the barriers andvulnerabilities that hinder the socioeconomic development of the most vulnerable 4Ps households, including indigenous peoples (IPs), homeless families (HFs), and beneficiaries from geographically-isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs). “Under […]

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) highlighted the importance of nutrition education sessions being attended by beneficiaries of the Walang Gutom Program (WGP) in the country’s fight against hunger. During the opening ceremonies of the WGP Kusinero Cook-Off Challenge at the Alicia Community Center in Alicia, Isabela on Thursday (March 27), Undersecretary Edu Punay of the DSWD’s Innovations and Program Development Group (IPDG) said the WGP aims to promote nutrition and behavioral change among beneficiaries by helping them understand the value of buying and eating nutritious food through nutrition education sessions. “Gusto nating ipakita sa programang ito na […]

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian expressed his confidence on the values gained by Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries from attending monthly family development sessions (FDS). During a press conference on Thursday (March 27), the DSWD chief was asked by reporters on various scenarios that may happen to 4Ps beneficiaries who received new mobile phones donated by Globe Telecom and G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI), the operator of GCash. “Part ng success nitong program is the values that we teach them and the morals that we teach them through the family development session…lahat ng kinwento niyo pwede […]

The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) recently acquired mobile kitchens, water stations, and laboratory clinics are now operational and serving families and individuals affected by disasters as well as beneficiaries of anti-hunger programs and residents of centers and residential care facilities (CRCF). DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said in a press conference on Thursday (March 27) that the mobile kitchens and water stations procured in February have been deployed to the various Field Offices across the country for use in anti-hunger programs and disaster operations. “Iyong mobile kitchens at water stations na-deploy na natin sa ating Field Offices at […]

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Thursday (March 27) emphasized that the new guideline of the Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) is now focused on providing assistance to Filipinos who are earning below the minimum wage. Secretary Gatchalian said this adjustment in the target program beneficiaries aligns with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s veto message when he signed the General Appropriations Act (GAA) 2025 and ordered the crafting of a new AKAP set of guidelines. “Dati kasi last year, ang term na ginamit sa special provision was low income. So, ngayon, mas defined […]

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is currently implementing its innovative Community Generative Action towards Reformative Development Ending Poverty and Hunger (Community GARDEnPH) in three municipalities in Regions CALABARZON, Eastern Visayas, and CARAGA as an additional measure to combat hunger and poverty. The Community GARDEnPH, which started in 2023, aims to capacitate the members of the community to work together and establish their own communal gardens. Through the program, hunger issues are expected to be responded to as the produce from the garden provides ample food support for the community. “Ang pangunahing benepisyaryo ay mga pamilyang mahihirap at […]