Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Joselito D. Bautista delivers his message for beneficiaries of financial assistance at Kapatagan Public Market.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Joselito D. Bautista delivers his message for beneficiaries of financial assistance at Kapatagan Public Market.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Joselito D. Bautista joined Cabinet members in a series of events held in Lanao del Norte on November 24 to extend social protection services to indigent families in the province.

Upon his arrival, the Secretary graced the launching of the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-Asa (BP2) Program in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte wherein the DSWD will extend aid to returning families from the National Capital Region (NCR) and provide assistance in their reintegration and resettlement at their places of origin.

Secretary Bautista also led the provision of financial assistance, under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS), to 100 indigent families in Kauswagan and 200 market vendors in Kapatagan who are economically affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the interventions that will be provided by the Department in BP2 Program are transportation assistance, Transitory Family Support Package, Livelihood Settlement Grants, transitory shelter assistance, and psychosocial support. In addition, the beneficiaries will also be involved in building self-sustaining community projects through the community-driven development (CDD) strategy of Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS), core program of the DSWD.

Through Kalahi-CIDSS, community members actively participate to identify and prioritize their community’s problems and  allow them to design, implement, and manage solutions to their priority problems. It focuses on providing people-centered development by providing development assistance, capacity-building, and implementation support to poverty-disadvantaged and disaster-affected municipalities

About 10,000 families nationwide are targeted to benefit from the BP2 Program in the coming years.

Meanwhile, the Secretary joined Senator Lawrence “Bong” Go and other Cabinet members including Department of Budget and Management Secretary Wendel Avisado, Department of Agriculture Secretary William Dar, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Eduardo D. del Rosario, Presidential Communications Operation Office Secretary Martin Andanar, Mindanao Development Authority Chairman Emmanuel Piñol, and Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission Commissioner Greco Belgica in the launching of the new Malasakit Center in Kapatagan Provincial Hospital. During the event, the Department, through its Field Office X, extended financial assistance worth Php3,000 to 46 patients currently admitted in the said hospital.

As the lead social welfare agency, DSWD remains committed to support the measures of the Duterte administration to ensure balanced regional development through the provision of quality social welfare programs to all Filipinos in need of assistance. ###