Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian announced on Monday (February 17) that the week-long celebration for the agency’s 74th anniversary will be marked by the Department’s digital innovations that further improve the service delivery to both external and internal publics through the streamlining of its various transactions and processes.
 
“Ang highlight this week is we improve our services for external clients but we do not forget our internal clients,” Secretary Gatchalian said during Monday’s anniversary kick-off ceremony at the DSWD Central Office in Quezon City.
 
Bannering the theme “Bawat Pamilyang Pilipino ay Mahalaga sa Bagong Pilipinas,”  the DSWD’s 74th anniversary celebration will be held from February 17 to 21 with a series of launches on the newest initiatives of the Department that seek to make the agency’s services more efficient, quality-driven, and client-centered.
 
Among these is the Paspas Gobyerno Information System or Paspas G-IS, which was launched during the opening of the week-long celebration.
 
This new platform is a digital monitoring and tracking tool designed to streamline the processing of documents and transactions across DSWD offices.
 
Secretary Gatchalian said the implementation of this project is anchored on Republic Act 11032 otherwise known as the Ease of Doing Business Act, which mandates zero backlog and expedites processing of all government transactions — whether for internal or external transactions.
 
“We have to make sure that we are not only giving extra love and extra care to our external clients, but also to our colleagues in the office,” Secretary Gatchalian said.
 
The Paspas GI-S will also include automated tracking and notifications to enforce the 3-7-20 rule, ensuring timely processing, real-time transaction updates to quickly address backlogs and delays, and data-driven analysis to identify bottlenecks and improve operational efficiency.
 
More accessible regulatory services
 
In the same event, Secretary Gatchalian lauded the efforts of the agency’s various offices and bureaus that worked behind the scenes to create the HELPS or the Harmonized Electronic Licensing Permit System.
 
These are among the agency’s online systems scheduled for launching on Tuesday (February 18) at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. as the guest of honor.
 
As mandated by R.A. 43734, the DSWD issues a certification for the registration, license to operate, and accreditation (CRLA) of social welfare and development agencies (SWDAs), people’s organizations (POs) and other civil society organizations (CSOs) engaged in social welfare services in the country.
 
The DSWD chief said the online system will particularly help SWDAs do away from the manual process of applying for registration, licensing, and accreditation that usually ranges from 3 to  6 months where applicants would have to undergo multiple walk-in transactions in DSWD offices.
 
“From what used to be 6 months of waiting time to get your RLA, now we’re down to at least a week or 2 weeks,” Secretary Gatchalian said.
 
“Kung dati singkwenta na requirements, forms, and steps, now we’re down to less than a dozen steps, forms, and requirements. So, congratulations to the hardworking team of Undersecretary Denise Florence Bernos Bragas and Assistant Secretary Janet Armas of the Regulatory Services and Institutional Development Group (RSIDG) and Director Megan of the Standards Bureau (SB) for the innovation,” the DSWD chief said.
 
Secretary Gatchalian also thanked the Protective Services Bureau (PSB) for easing the application and issuance of clearances for minors travelling abroad (MTA) through the MTA portal.
 
With the new MTA system, applicants no longer need to submit the required documents physically to any DSWD office nationwide. Applications with complete, verified, and authentic documents will be processed and issued in just 1-3 days.
 
“Starting this week, no more manuals falling in line, you now go online to get your MTA so congratulations to Undersecretary Monina Romualdez of the Operations Group, Asst. Secretary for Statutory Programs Ada Colico, to Director Edmond Monteverde of the PSB and to the entire team who worked on the MTA,” the DSWD chief said.
 
These digital innovations are anchored on President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr’s socioeconomic agenda on digitalization of government processes and operations.