Project Aruga helps parents caring for their children with disabilities – DSWD exec

A senior official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) highlighted the importance of responsive social protection in giving families of children with disabilities the means to provide a better quality of life for their kids.

“As parents, it’s very difficult na by themselves to raise children, diba? I’m sure it’s doubly difficult to raise children with disabilities kasi may special needs po sila,” Undersecretary Adonis Sulit of the DSWD’s Policy and Plans Group (PPG) said during the Thursday Media Forum on July 30.

In order to help families of children with disabilities, the DSWD’s Social Technology Bureau (STB) crafted a model of intervention called the “Project Aruga” to help address the needs of children with disabilities.

“Ang technical term po kasi dito sa DSWD pagka may gagawing programa para sa vulnerable sector, kailangan muna mayroon kang model of intervention. Ang tawag po nila Project Aruga. Ito po yung community-based intervention para po magbigay ng disability-inclusive social protection to children with disabilities and their families,” Undersecretary Sulit explained to reporters.

The DSWD’s Project Aruga is a community-based intervention model designed to address the unmet needs of children with disabilities and their families. This is done through the delivery of comprehensive social and health services that are family-focused, client-centered, and community-oriented.

The DSWD-PPG undersecretary noted that the project provides disability support allowance (DSA) to the parents or recognized caregivers to help augment the cost of caring for children with disabilities.

Another important component of Project Aruga is to increase the access of families of children with disabilities to services such as health, education, skills development, livelihood, employment, and social insurance by strengthening linkages with partners from the public and private sector.

As of July 2026, the DSWD has enrolled 1,140 families of children with disabilities across nine implementation sites.

The sites are located in Caloocan City (National Capital Region); Laoag City, Ilocos Norte (Ilocos Region); Ilagan City, Isabela (Cagayan Valley); Lubao, Pampanga (Central Luzon); Biñan City, Laguna (CALABARZON); Puerto Princesa, Palawan (MIMAROPA); Sorsogon City, Sorsogon (Bicol Region); San Jose de Buenavista, Antique (Western Visayas); and, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur (Davao Region).

In his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. mentioned that Project Aruga is one of the government’s interventions that can be accessed by families of children with developmental disabilities, aside from the benefit package offered by PhilHealth.

“Ang goal po is pagka natapos na yung pilot implementation nila sa mga select areas, iyon po ay magiging programa for national implementation,” Undersecretary Sulit told reporters.

The Media Forum, which was broadcast live on the official DSWD Facebook page, was hosted by Special Assistant to the Secretary (SAS) for Strategic Communications Raymond Burgos. (AKDL)

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