Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian and representatives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Senior Officials Meeting on Social Welfare and Development (SOMSWD) and Social Work Consortium launch the Regional Guidance for ASEAN Member States on the Role of Social Workers and the wider Social Service Workforce in Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Resilience (DRRCR) during a hybrid session of the ASEAN Social Work Day 2025 on Tuesday (March 25) in Quezon City.
The event was attended by UNICEF Philippines Ad Interim Country Representative Behzad Noubary, ASEAN Social Work Consortium (ASWC) Philippines Chairperson Dr. Glady Bunao, and Deputy Secretary General of the National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) of Cambodia H. E. Prak Kim Hong.
Secretary-General for ASEAN H.E. Kao Kim Hourn also provided a keynote message for the event.
Also present were H. E. Ambassador Agus Widjojo of the Embassy of Republic of Indonesia; H.E. Ambassador Dato Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino Anthony of the Embassy of Malaysia; H.E. Ambassador Constance See of the Embassy of the Republic of Singapore; H.E Ambassador Lai Thai Binh of the Embassy of the Republic of Vietnam; H.E Ambassador Sonexay Vannaxay of the Embassy of Lao People’s Democratic Republic; and, H.E Ambassador San Yu Kyaw of the Embassy of Myanmar.
Other DSWD officials present at the celebration were Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay Villar and Asst. Secretary Elaine Fallarcuna of the International Affairs, and Attached and Supervised Agencies; Undersecretary Diana Rose Cajipe and Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao of the Disaster Response Management Group; Undersecretary Vilma Cabrera and Asst. Secretary Marites Maristela of the Conditional Cash Transfer Group; and Asst. Secretary Ada Colico of the Protective Programs under the Operations Group.
The event carried the theme: “Recognizing the Vital Role of Social Workers in DRRCR”, highlighting the role of social workers as one of the first responders during natural and human-induced disasters. #