The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) represented the Philippines at the International Conference on Cohesive Societies (ICCS) 2025 and on its side event, Forum for Regional Communities of Success (FOCUS), held on June 23 to 26 in Singapore.
Undersecretary Fatima Aliah Dimaporo of the DSWD’s Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs attended the Singapore forum where she presented Project Riayah—a pioneering agency initiative that addresses the health, sanitation, food, and other basic needs of Marawi City residents with special focus on orphaned, abandoned, and neglected children living in ‘torils’.
Representing Secretary Rex Gatchalian in the ICCS 2025 and FOCUS, Undersecretary Dimaporo reported at the forum that Project Riayah was conceptualized in response to the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to uphold and protect the vulnerable groups in society.
“When the DSWD launched Project Riayah, it illuminated the critical opportunity to provide holistic support and sustained effort to conflict-affected Muslim communities, particularly for thousands of out-of-school children and youth, many orphaned, abandoned, and entrusted to the care of informal, unregulated, and community-based institutions run by religious leaders, such as ulama and asatizah,” Undersecretary Dimaporo said in her message during the FOCUS.
The Project Riayah aims to transform a once informal safety net into a formal and sustainable pathway towards a productive and profound religious life for Muslim
Filipinos.
The project is also geared at establishing a central hub or Social Welfare and Development Agency (SWDA) registered and licensed by the DSWD that promotes child welfare and youth development aligned with Islamic values.
Through Project Riayah, Undersecretary Dimaporo said the DSWD also aims to improve social cohesion in the toril community and professional development of religious leaders, with particular focus on youth development, through an institutionalized Riayah network.
“By leveraging our mandate to set standards and provide consultative services through the registration, licensing, and accreditation of Social Welfare and Development Agencies, or SWDAs, across the Philippines, Project Riayah emerges as an innovative and strategic approach to establish vital community hubs, or in the language of the Communities of Success Programme (COSP), centers of community. Through the SWDA system, the DSWD can deliver accessible social protection and structured community development for diverse Muslim communities,” Undersecretary Dimaporo pointed out. (YADP)