Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo today delivered the agency’s one-year report to the Filipino people in a presentation at the DSWD Central Office in Quezon City. Dubbed “Ulat ng DSWD sa Bayan,” the report contains highlights of the DSWD’s accomplishments from July 1, 2016 to end of June 2017.

“We gave Pres. Rodrigo Duterte a copy of this report as he was preparing for his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 24, and now we are presenting it in whole to the Filipino people. In adherence to the principles of transparency and accountability, we present these facts and figures of the DSWD’s accomplishments. We are also doing this for two other important reasons: 1) to assure the Filipino people that we are using government resources to serve their needs; and 2) to give credit to all DSWD employees and staff who have worked hard all year to do their duties as servants of the Filipino people,” she said.

Sec. Taguiwalo said that the last year has been a series of learning experiences as she learned the ropes at the DSWD and familiarized herself with its workings and various programs. She spent considerable time reviewing the programs with the intent to see how they can be improved by closing the gaps where corruption and inefficiency have taken root.

“As always, I am grateful for the support the career officials of the DSWD and the heads of the various offices, bureaus, and units of the agency. Neither can we forget the commitment to the new values and principles we have brought into the DSWD as shown by the rank and file employees of the DSWD who are actually the strength of the department. As we begin our second year at the DSWD, I again ask for their support: let us continue to serve the Filipino people with compassion, untainted by corruption, with efficiency and promptness.”

Sec. Taguiwalo, however, said that the DSWD Ulat sa Bayan cannot be complete without mentioning the list of things the department under her leadership has not yet completed or accomplished. She said that the DSWD will work harder to increase its budget utilization; fast-track the implementation of the DSWD complete program of assistance to indigenous peoples (IPs); ensure smoother coordination with DSWD attached agencies; finalize the assistance provision to Typhoons Yolanda and Lawin survivors; ensure the convergence of all DSWD programs to accommodate both Pantawid  Pamilyang Pilipino Program  (4Ps) members and non-4Ps members; and implement the comprehensive improvement of DSWD-run centers and facilities.

“We will work harder to meet the targets we have set ourselves as a strong and united department that provides for the immediate and emergency needs of the Filipino people. There is always room for improvement, and we continue to set our standards high because our goal is to serve the people the best way that we can,” she said. #

DSWD’s report to Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte, July 24, 2017

The DSWD implemented Pres. Rodrigo Duterte’s free medicine program (PhP1 billion) the Libreng Gamot Para sa Masa Program (LINGAP) to enable indigent patients to access prescription medicines. LINGAP is being implemented in six (6) hospitals in Regions III, VI, VII, XI, and the National Capital Region (NCR), and has served 12,039 indigents since March 2017. [1]

Accomplishments under the Libreng Gamot Para sa Masa Program (as of 30 June 2017)

[1]     Implementation date of the LINGAP per hospital varies but were all piloted in March 2017.

Promoting an Enabling Environment for the Poor, Marginalized, and Vulnerable^[1]

DSWD remains committed to continuously improving social protection programs to ensure that these are responsive to the current needs of the poor, marginalized, and vulnerable. With the ultimate goal of enabling them to stand on their own, DSWD  implements programs that seek to help the poor empower themselves.

  Increased benefits under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Pantawid Pamilya).^[2]The  annual budget for Pantawid Pamilya increased from PhP62.7 billion in 2016 to PhP78.2 billion in 2017. The increase included the provision of rice allowance to all active and compliant Pantawid Pamilya households, as part of PRRD’s commitments during his first State of the Nation Address.

The Duterte government, through the DSWD, started the release in March 2017 of rice subsidies to an estimated four (4) million Pantawid Pamilya households. Each active and compliant household is entitled to receive a PhP600.00 monthly rice subsidy, equivalent to around 18 kilos of rice. As of 31 March 2017, DSWD has distributed a total of P2.58 billion rice subsidy among the Pantawid Pamilya households.

  Ending hunger and improving nutrition. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) remains the poorest region in the country, with an estimated 53.7 percent poverty incidence among population in 2015.[3]In October 2016, PRRD and the DSWD launched the Bangsamoro Umpungan sa Nutrisyon (BangUN) program, my Administration’s flagship program in combatting hunger and malnutrition in the ARMM, especially among children. The DSWD initially allocated PhP32 million for one component, the Supplemental Feeding Program for 2017.[4]

Of the 9,280 target beneficiaries, 74 percent or 6,810 children aged two (2) to five (5) years old have been selected, validated, and included in the final listing. This is part of the social preparation phase, which also entails the orientation of project partners (Madaris, LGUs, and relevant ARMM government agencies); and community organizing, which includes formation and orientation of parents’ committees as lead partners in community- and madrasah-based feeding.

    Expanding pension benefits for retirees and indigent senior citizens. This was undertaken through the following:

 Expanded the Social Pension for indigent senior citizens.^[5]Launched in 2011, the program provides PhP500 monthly cash grants to indigent senior citizens, prioritizing the frail, sickly, disabled, and those without pension, permanent source of income, or support from relatives. The Duterte government, through the DSWD, has targeted 2,809,542 senior citizens for 2017, a 104 percent increase from the 1,375,970 senior citizens in 2016. To date, DSWD has given cash grants to 1,986,281 indigent senior citizens, or 70.7 percent of the targeted number of beneficiaries for 2017.

[1]     DSWD, Inputs to the President’s Report to the People 2017, 31 May 2017; and DSWD, Additional Inputs to the President’s Report to the People 2017, 10-11 July 2017.

[2]     This is in addition to the health and education grants that they are entitled to receive per month, the total amount of which depends on each household’s circumstance and monthly compliance with the conditions of the Program.

[3]     PSA, Poverty Incidence Statistics.

[4]     DBM Vetting, 19 July 2017.

[5]     DSWD, Inputs to the President’s Report to the People 2017, 31 May 2017. 

    Implementation of the Centenarians Act of 2016. In September 2016, the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) No. 10868 or the Centenarians Act of 2016, was signed. It grants each Filipino centenarian[1]a gift amounting to PhP100,000 and a letter of felicitation from the national government.

Of the 2,992 Centenarians targeted for 2016,[2] 51 percent or 1,525 have already received their incentives.The 1,000 Centenarians targeted for 2017 will start receiving their incentives in the third quarter of 2017.

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[6] DSWD, Inputs to the President’s Report to the People 2017, 31 May 2017.

[7] An increase in budget allocation for the Program enabled the expansion of age coverage to those at least 65 years old and 60 years old indigent elderly in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

[8] Covers all Filipinos who have reached 100 years old and above, whether residing in the Philippines or abroad

[9] Including 174 who are overseas

  Implementation of An Act Expanding the Benefits and Privileges of Persons with Disability (PWD).In December 2016, Pres. Duterte signed the IRR of RA No. 10754, which primarily grants PWDs at least 20 percent discount and exemption from the value added tax on the sale of certain goods and services. Relative to the implementation of the law, the DOH issued guidelines for the provision of medical and health-related discounts and special privileges for PWDs. The BIR also issued regulations relative to the tax privileges of PWDs and tax incentives for establishments granting sales discount.

 Continuing the implementation of the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).The SLP is a community-based capacity building program, which has micro-enterprise development and employment facilitation tracks. The following are our accomplishments under the Program:

Accomplishments under the Sustainable Livelihood Program

Moving forward, the DSWD aims to improve the implementation of the PantawidPamilya and ensure that the benefits the program provides will reach its members.

The DSWD is committed to addressing hunger and malnutrition in our poorest communities, particularly in the ARMM.

KALAHI-CIDSS National Community-Driven Development Program (KC-NCDDP)

The Program was launched in 2014 and will run until 2019, targeting to cover a total of 19,647 barangays in 847 municipalities located in 58 provinces and 15 regions, to benefit approximately 5.3 million households.

For 2017, the target is to have covered a total of 19,647 barangays in all 847 municipalities located in 58 provinces and 15 regions. As of 31 March 2017, the Program has already enrolled 798 municipalities with 18,629 barangays, which are located across 58 provinces in 15 regions in the country. All target regions and provinces have been engaged, while 94% and 95% of the target number of municipalities and barangays have been covered, respectively.

From July 2016 to March 2017, 4,944 sub-projects were completed, benefiting approximately 988,030 households. The sub-projects include construction of health and day care centers, pre- and post- harvest facility, roads, and bridges, among others.

Reducing Vulnerabilities to Natural and Man-Made Disasters

 Launched by the DSWD in August 2016 of the Emergency Operations Center for Disaster Response and its online version, the Virtual Operations center microsatellite.  Through the Virtual Operations center, we made available to the general public some useful information that can promote their safety during disasters, including information on vulnerable groups from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the DSWD Listahanan, evacuation centers, and situational reports on the DSWD’s response efforts to disasters. In addition, we have also promoted transparency and good governance as the Center makes information on the status of relief resources and standby funds available.[1]

  Provision of relief assistance to more than two (2) million families affected by various disasters from July 2016 to June 2017. The assistance included the PhP120.96 million worth of food and non-food items to 2.4 million persons affected by typhoon Lawin in Regions I, II, III, IV, and CAR in October 2016.A total of PhP2.755 million has also been allocated for the Emergency Shelter Cash Assistance Program and Cash For Work Program to extend aid to families whose house have been partially and totally damaged by said calamity.

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[10]  DSWD, Inputs to the 2017 SONA, undated; and Relief Website, accessed from http://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/dswd-launches-virtual-opcen-disasters-other-emergencies, 06 June 2017. 

   Armed Conflict in Marawi City. As of 20 July 2017[1], 115,880 families or 527,704 persons have been displaced by the Armed Conflict in Marawi City, per accumulated data. The effect of this unrest has displaced families / persons coming from all 96 barangays of Marawi; from 20 other municipalities of Lanao del Sur (Balindong (Watu), Bayang, Binidayan, Buadiposo-Buntong, Bubong, Butig, Calanogas, Ditsaan-Ramain, Ganassi, Kapai, Lumba-Bayabao (Maguing), Lumbatan, Madamba, Madalum, Marantao, Masiu, Mulondo, Poona Bayabao (Gata), Saguiaran, and Tugaya); and from 2 municipalities of Lanao del Norte (Kolambugan and Sultan Naga Dimaporo / Karomatan).^[2]

In response to this, 89 Evacuation Centers have been opened, accommodating 5,055 families or 27,335 persons. On the other hand, 98,846 families or 442,981 persons are staying outside evacuation centers with relatives or friends in Regions VI, NIR,VII, X, XI, XII, CARAGA, and ARMM. A total of Php 161,335,304.00 worth of food and non-food items were also provided by the DSWD to its responding Field Offices.

   Typhoon Nina.The DSWD identified a total of 259,217 household-beneficiaries of emergency shelter assistance after Typhoon Nina struck some parts of Regions IV-A, IV-B and V. Of the target households, 36,518 or 15% have already received the initial assistance of P5,000.00 each amounting to PhP182,590,000.00.

   Ormoc City Earthquake. 2,603 families or 10,617 individuals were affected by the earthquakes that hit Ormoc City earlier of July 2017. As of 21 July, DSWD has provided a total of 15,993,167.44 worth of food and non-food items to the victims of the incident.

   Surigao City Earthquake.On 10 February 2017, a 6.7 Earthquake struck Surigao City, Surigao del Norte, with an aftershock that occurred on 05 March, affecting 10,947 families or 54,735 persons in 91 barangays in CARAGA. As of 21 April, A total of PhP26,947,368.87 worth of assistance has been provided to affected families in said area. Of the said amount, the DSWD has provided PhP22,488,257.37, the LGUs provided PhP2,742,838.00, while some NGOs provided PhP1,716,273.50.

   In fulfillment of the commitment during the third-year commemoration of the typhoon in 2016 in Tacloban City, PRRD ordered the allocation of PhP1 billion to extend financial assistance, amounting to PhP5,000 per family, to families with damaged houses but have not received any shelter assistance from the government or private donors up to now. Close to 167,000 households (85% of the target) from Regions VI, VII, and VIII[3] have been validated to be eligible to avail of the assistance.

[11]Notes:

• The DSWD-FOs VI, VII, NIR, X, XI, XII, CARAGA, and DSWD-ARMM are continuously serving the IDPs from Marawi City and the affected neighboring municipalities in their respective regions for assistance.
• Concerned DSWD Field Offices are continuously validating and updating the inside and outside evacuation centers data. Further changes on the figures are expected with the continuous validation and movement of the affected population.
• All DROMIC reports may be downloaded and shared by visiting: http://dromic.dswd.gov.ph/category/situation-reports/

^[12]The updates are a result of the ongoing data validation being conducted by the concerned DSWD Field Offices through the use of the Disaster Assistance Family Access Card (DAFAC) to profile each internally displaced family, which was consolidated into a masterlist of all IDPs.  Sources of these updates are coming from initial masterlists submitted by DSWD FOs VI, NIR, CARAGA, VII, X, XI, XII and ARMM. Validation and consolidation are still ongoing and further changes in the figures are to be expected.

[13]   Including Negros Provinces

Serbisyong Walang Puwang sa Katiwalian

President Duterte directed the Executive Department to ensure that corruption is eliminated. DSWD took on the motto, “Serbisyong Walang Puwang sa Katiwalian”. This battle cry led the Department to weed out irregular activities and remove vulnerabilities to corruption.

The Legal Service, as of March 2017, decided and/or endorsed to the appropriate offices four (4) cases, ranging from harassment to possible neglect. It has also attended to nine (9) administrative and litigated hearings and conducted three (3) Preliminary Investigations. Furthermore, the Legal Service prepared and issued nine (9) Formal Charges and Show Cause Orders to various DSWD personnel. Said office also assisted in fact-finding and related activities.

In parallel effort, the Internal Audit Service (IAS) implemented the Integrity Management Program (IMP) Risk Assessment and Risk Management. On March 20, 2017, the DSWD-Integrity Management Committee launched a new campaign to further promote integrity-building in the Department which is entitled, Project Ignite Integrity 2017. The campaign aims to raise awareness and always remind the DSWD officials and employees of the importance of having integrity as public servants

Finally, the Office of the Secretary, with assistance from IAS, has conducted assessment studies on the program implementation of shelter assistance (Yolanda, Pablo, Sendong, Bohol Earthquake), assistance to individuals and communities in crisis to detect bottlenecks, risks, and actual organization capacity to implement these programs. These studies have produced policy developments which defined and placed necessary implementation controls.

National Drug Rehabilitation Program (NDRP): Pillar III – Aftercare, Reintegration and Transformation for Recovering Drug Dependents.

DSWD leads Pillar III of the government’s multi-agency approach to address the needs of the drug dependents who voluntarily surrendered in light of President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. The NDRP’s goal is to help drug users and pushers who have surrendered to rehabilitate themselves and return to the fold of society as productive members through rehabilitation, transformation and reintegration into society.

• Pillar III involves the provision of a wide-array of aftercare services for recovering drug dependents and their families to hasten and strengthen their rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Lead agencies include the DSWD, Department of Agriculture, TESDA, DOH and Department of Education.

• From the July 2016 to March 2017, DSWD Regional Offices pursued inter-agency collaboration and convergence to address the need of drug surrenderers and intensified capacity–building and technical assistance on the implementation of aftercare, reintegration and support services for recovering drug dependents.

• Some interventions extended to recovering drug dependents (RDD) and their families are as follows:

Presidential Financial Assistance (5KPFA) for the Typhoon “Yolanda”-Affected Households

On February 1, 2017, DSWD issued Memorandum Circular No. 03, series of 2017 prescribing the Guidelines for the availment of the PhP5,000 per household to victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda who have not received shelter assistance from the government or private donors.

A total of 196,258 households with damaged houses were targeted to avail the five thousand peso assistance. Of the total target households, sixty-six percent have been validated.

Helping OFWs – Support to Operation: Bring Them Home

In September 2016, the DSWD was part of a team that lead a humanitarian mission to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the DSWD, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA), Department of Health  (DOH), and the Technological and Skills Development Administration (TESDA) to participate in this noble endeavor.
The mission is the Duterte government’s response to the problems affecting OFWs such as expired Iqama, non-issuance of exit visa, no insurance coverage and are delayed for repatriation.

The DSWD provided psychosocial intervention, food and hygiene packs, and regional referrals they needed so they prepare themselves for their return to the Philippines. The agency served a total of 9,476 OFWs. Of the total number of served clients, 4,147 (44%) are from Jeddah, 3,588 (38%) are from Riyadh, and 1,741 (18%) are from Al Khobar/Dammam.

The process flow of assistance provision created by the inter-agency in Riyadh was acknowledged as the best practice that resulted in the repatriation of 508 stranded OFWs from Saudi Oger during the Humanitarian Mission.

The DSWD provided assistance to 9,446 stranded OFWs from the 8,000 target or 118% accomplishment.  Volunteers rendered valuable support in the organized distribution of assistance. ###