With this year’s theme, “ Juana: Ang Tatag mo ay tatag natin sa pagbangon at pagsulong” , the Department of Social Welfare and Development had a culminating activity which was headed by the Assistant Regional Director for Administration, Purita H. Santa. It was participated by selected staff particularly members of the Men Oppose Violence Everywhere (MOVE) and representatives from the different Units of the Agency .
Advocacy on the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012 was discussed by Mr. Raiz A. Ampaso (SWO II) as part of the Department and Social Welfare and Developments’ information drive to eliminate human trafficking . In order to activate and strengthen Men Oppose Violence Everywhere (MOVE), a re-orientation was also done by Mr.Ian Putong. Ms Monavic Budiongan also discussed on Gender Sensitivity to develop the participants’ sensitivity in perceiving gender issues and inequalities as well as in recognizing the different situations and needs of women .
Another highlight of the one day activity was the film showing of “Enough”which showed how far a violence victim can go if and when the problem is not given resolution and intervention. This was also hoped to enhance their perception on Violence Against Women .
The Women’s Month is celebrated annually and is spearheaded by the Department of Social Welfare and Development being the lead Agency in advocating for the rights of women.
Written by Mitzie S. Santiago,DSWD

DSWD conducted another round of orientation of the Social Protection and Development Report represented by Ms. Linda A. Canguit, the Department’s Regional Planning Officer. She emphasized the importance of the Social Protection and Development Report (SPDR) specifically on the preparation of the Risk and Vulnerability Assessment, for them to focus on those highly at risk indicators and vulnerable sectors given the limited budget of the government. She advised those members of the LPRAT to present the data in the SPDR/RVA as basis in the identification of prioritized poverty reduction projects during the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting Process.

About 44 local social welfare and development officers and planning and development officers in the municipalities of Bukidnon province attended the activity conducted last March 25 at Malaybalay, Bukidnon.

For the province of Misamis Occidental, Orientation on the preparation of SPDR/RVA will be conducted on April 29, 2014 at Ozamiz City and and on April 30, 2014 for the province of Lanao del Norte.

Written by Charmaine P. Tadlas, as reported by Ms. Linda S. Canguit

DSWD oriented the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, Provincial Planning and Development Officer and Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officers and Planning and Development Officers on the preparation of Social Protection Report and Risk and Vulnerability Assessment last March 27, 2014 at Mambajao, Camiguin. The said orientation was done to help the local officers focus on those with highly at risk indicators and vulnerable sectors given the limited budget of the government.

Photo and caption by Linda S. Canguit, DSWD

The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Baybay City, Leyte released City Resolution No. 254 s. 2013 thanking the Department of Social Welfare and Development, particularly in Region 10, for its delivery of relief goods given to the city for the victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda that hit the area last 2013.

According the resolution, the province of Leyte suffered so much damage due to the typhoon and that many victims, especially the indigent families, needed the immediate relief for their basic needs “as they have nothing left.”

It also said that the DSWD was one of the first organizations that have responded to the call for help by delivering goods to alleviate the needs of the victims.

DSWD is mandated to assist local government units through augmentation of resources during disasters and to make immediate response to relief, early recovery and rehabilitation for victims of the calamities.

Written by Charmaine P. Tadlas, DSWD

The Department of Social Welfare and Development recently participated in the Alaga Ka Launching of PhilHealth held at Brgy.Nazareth Covered Court.
Headed by Assistant Regional Director for Operations ,Aldersey de la Cruz, staffs from the Listahanan Unit and the Social Marketing Unit , were able to showcase advocacy materials for Listahanan . Queries relative to the project as well as to the other programs and services of the Department were welcomed and accomodated.
Highlights of the activity included the distribution of Member’s Data Record (MDR) to PhilHealth members , signing of the Commitment Wall by representatives from partner Agencies and the city government and the messsage of President Aquino via live streaming.
Alaga Ka is an integtrated marketing scheme of PhilHealth, the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Health. It was specifically aimed to keep the PhilHealth members informed of their PhilHealth coverage,benefits and the other programs of the Department of Health.
PhilHealth is one of the active partners of the Department of Social Welfare and Development who have entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Agency and have utilized the Listahanan data in identifying their potential members .
Listahanan or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) is an information management system that the government uses in identifying who and where the poor are and is being spearheaded by the Department of Social Welfare and Development. It aims to address poverty reduction through a scientific and target- focused strategy.
Written by Mitzie S. Santiago,DSWD

The Kalipunan ng Liping Pilipina (KALIPI) recently conducted their 1st Quarterly Meeting with participants from various women organizations from the Local Govenment Units and non-government organizations in the region . In time for the annual celebration of the Women’s Month, some of the highlights of the said activity included the induction of officers, the presentation of accomplishments for the 1st Quarter of 2014, presentation of the 2015 Plan of Action and the presentation of the Financial Report. Issues and concerns affecting the different women oganizations were also tackled.
The Kalipunan ng Liping Pilipina (KALIPI) is a national federation of women’s organizations established in the year 1990 under the Bureau of Women’s Welfare. It is the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s response being the lead Agency mandated to provide programs and services that will alleviate poverty and empower the vulnerable and disadvantaged sectors in society including the women .
The KALIPI is a federation of women’s organization, committed to respond to the need of organizing women which genuinely promotes women’s development and empowerment through harnessing their strengths and developing their full potentials as human beings.
Since the KALIPI has been organized in the local government units, women in the barangays and municipalities have been empowered and have learned to value what they can do and contribute not only for the upliftment of their communities but also for themselves.
In the City of El Salvador for instance, some of the livelihood projects of the women in the locality includes production of mats, duhat wine, herbal products, cassava and suman products making, cakes and patries making. To date, preparations are being made for the Opening of their House of Pasalubong which will be the ultimate display center of their products and will showcase the entrepreneurial activity of the women in El Salvador. This initiative of the City government hopes to provide income for their families and in the process improve their quality of life. This livelihood project was also made possible in coordination with other partner agencies and organizations .
In Iligan City, the city govenrment tapped Coca-Cola Bottlers Phils.Inc. in the conduct of Business Entrepreneurship Training to qualified KALIPI members in which 508 members from 10 different barangays were able to participate.
This and more shows that the women of today are indeed aware of their important role not only in their respective homes but to their communities as well. They have come to realize that in order for a nation and a community to develop, it takes the strength of both men and women .
Written by Mitzie S. Santiago,DSWD

Cagayan de Oro City – 266,011 poor households in Northern Mindanao were revealed to have been served with at least two social welfare and development (SWD) programs. This is according to the name-matching of program beneficiaries conducted recently by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

This number of households were higher than the expected target of 260,739 households identified through the DSWD’s Listahanan – the national targeting system utilized by the national government in identifying who and where the poor are in the Philippines.

The data shows that about 102.02% of the expected target is enjoying various social protection programs coming from DSWD, other national government agencies, and local government units. As per data generation, among the top social protection programs and services being enjoyed by the households are Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, Philhealth, Cash for Training, Sustainable Livelihood Program, Supplementary Feeding Program, Community-Driven Development, Cash for Work, and Government Internship Program (GIP).

The conduct of the name-matching was done as a step in attaining one of the strategic goals of the DSWD which is to ensure that there will be an increase of poor households identified by Listahanan by 2016. This number then should reflect that these households are enjoying the benefits of at least two social protection programs.

Written by Charmaine Tadlas, DSWD

Based on the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) or Listahanan in Northern Mindanao , of the 1,861,414 poor individuals assessed , 896,276 or 48.2% comprised the poor women sector.
Most (7.5%) of these poor women are laborers and unskilled workers. Of these, 5.5% are engaged in farming,forestry works and fishing. It is also alarming to note that 67% of the poor women in Northern Mindanao were reported to have no job.
In terms of educational attainment ,about 42.5% of the poor women have only reached elementary level while 28.1% of these women have reached high school level and only 5.0% reached college level.
In general, Filipino women find pride in their work and in their chores at home. They do not find themselves alienated from their chores because they work with, around,and for their families. The family-oriented mindset gives them a sense of dignity and responsibility. The family and the children are the primary priority in a Filipina’s life.
As majority of these poor women are in the rural areas, they are more than willing to do whatever tasks or job opportunity is at hand regardless of how much they are being paid.
Being in a modern era, women are empowered to go out of their way and find means on how to earn additional income for their families. Despite of this, there still remains a considerable number of poor women needing the attention from the government and other stakeholders who are working for the empowerment of women through their various programs and services geared towards their economic upliftment .
It is hoped that more stakeholders will look into this concern and would find it an opportunity to take part in making a difference in the lives of these poor women by utilizing the Listahanan data as their point of reference in determining who would be their target women beneficiaries.
The NHTS-PR or Listahanan is an information management system that the government use in identifying who and where the poor are and is being spearheaded by the Department of Social Welfare and Development. It aims to address poverty reduction through a scientific and target- focused strategy.
Written by Mitzie S.Santiago,DSWD