With the escalation of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has expressed its readiness to provide social protection and other form of assistance to overseas Filipinos (OFs) and their children should a mandatory repatriation is called by the Philippine government. According to Director Edwin Morata of the DSWD’s Protective Services Bureau-Crisis Intervention Unit (PSB-CIU), the agency has teams of social workers and prepared packages of interventions that can immediately be extended to OFs who will be repatriated to Manila. “Ready po ang DSWD. Pag nakatanggap po ng direktiba mula sa ating […]

The Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is a catch-all, all inclusive, stop-gap measure with the assistance provided depending on the situation being faced by the client – whether poor or middleclass, an agency official explained on Thursday (June 19). DSWD Director Edwin Morata of the Crisis Intervention Division (CID) also debunked prevailing perception that the AICS program is only for the poor and that the program was making the poor “lazy” and dependent on the DSWD. “Ang AICS ay isa sa mga frontline services ng Departamento. Isa po itong […]

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) presented its key observations on the voting experience of senior citizens during the Commission on Election – Vulnerable Sectors Office’s (Comelec-VSO) Post-Election Evaluation on Tuesday (June 17) at the Lanson Place, Mall of Asia in Pasay City. Asst. Secretary Elaine Fallarcuna of the DSWD’s Legislative Affairs Group (LAG) congratulated the Comelec for the successful midterm polls last May 12 and commended the over-all safe voting experience of vulnerable groups. “With the help of our DSWD Field Offices, we deployed 382 personnel on the ground to observe and assist — making sure we […]

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will provide all the necessary assistance to “Mak-mak,” the person on the autism spectrum who was ganged-up inside a public utility bus along Buendia Avenue in Makati, an agency official assured on Thursday (June 19). “Nakatutok ang Central Office dito. Direktiba ni Secretary Rex Gatchalian na bantayan, i-proseso, at bigyan ng karampatang serbisyo [ang biktima],” Director Edwin Morata of the Protective Services Bureau-Crisis Intervention Unit (PSB-CIU) said during the DSWD Thursday Media Forum at the Central Office’s New Press Center in Quezon City. According to the CIU chief, Mak-mak, accompanied by his […]

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Council for Climate and Conflict Action Asia (CCAA) are working on the Kasama Katutubo Project—an effort to better understand the needs of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) and make government programs more responsive and respectful of their way of life. One of the main goals of the project is to develop a new survey tool that will gather information about IPs’ values, resilience, culture, and goals. “In order for us to come up with programs that will suit the IP communities, we have to first know who they are, we […]

The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Sustainable LivelihoodProgram (SLP) does not just give outright cash assistance for livelihood but instead focuses on helping individuals and associations prepare, learn, and grow so they can manage and sustain their start-ups as stable sources of income, an agency official said. Director Miramel Laxa of the agency’s SLP said eligible participants go through a step-by-step process that includes social preparation, financial literacy training, and capacity-building activities before they receive any form of livelihood support. “Hindi po ito outright cash, nag-undergo po muna ng social preparation and that includescapacity building in managing a […]

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) continues to support the learning process of young learners across the country by strengthening ties between social welfare and education-centric programs of the government, an agency official said on Thursday (June 19). Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao, who is also the DSWD’s spokesperson, said the constant challenge to uphold quality education is a shared responsibility of everyone in the government. “As always stressed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the government must not work in a silo. Dapat laging ‘as one’. Tayo sa DSWD, we are known for our social welfareprograms and our […]

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will formalize a new partnership with Climate Conflict Action Asia (CCAA) through the signing of a Memorandumof Understanding (MOU) for the Kasama Katutubo Project, an initiative that aims to improve the delivery of services to Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) across the country. DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian and CCAA Executive Director Francisco Lara Jr. will lead the ceremonial signing on Thursday (June 19) at the DSWD Central Office in Quezon City. Undersecretary Fatima Aliah Dimaporo of the DSWD’s Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs said the partnership marks a milestone in strengthening culturally sensitive […]