To promote volunteerism in social protection delivery

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency (PNVSCA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in a bid to encourage and promote volunteerism in the delivery of social protection programs and services in the country.

During the ceremonial signing of the MOU at the DSWD Central Office on Tuesday, DSWD Sec. Rex Gatchalian emphasized the importance of time offered by organized citizens in mainstreaming volunteerism across the social welfare and development landscape.

“We all know that the most precious commodity is time. I have always come to realize that people always find it easy to do social responsibility programs by donating, but when we ask them for time, that is something that they cannot give,” Gatchalian said.

The DSWD chief stressed that the Department is looking forward to this partnership “because we know that not only we will be able to harness the most expensive commodity out there, which is time, but we will be able also to use them efficiently in a right direction”.

Gatchalian also expressed his gratitude to the PNVSCA for leading the promotion and coordination of volunteer programs and services on social protection delivery.

“And we know that there are so many good doers out there, it’s such that walang nagcha-channel nung [no one is channeling their] energy nila to the right direction,” the DSWD chief added.

The MOU signed by Gatchalian and PNVSCA Executive Director Donald James Gawe aims to establish a mechanism where volunteer organizations and individuals can be involved in the implementation of social protection programs and services.

“Today is indeed a significant milestone in our effort to promote volunteerism as a tool for nation-building,” Executive Director Gawe said.

The DSWD is among the first government agencies that adopted the PNVSCA’s Bayanihan Bayan Program, the government’s volunteer program that encourages volunteerism among Filipinos and enjoins government employees to volunteer service in social, economic, and humanitarian development undertakings in the community.

“It is timely that the DSWD has renewed and revised this initiative given our whole-of-society approach to addressing socio-economic concerns,” the executive director pointed out.

The Department is working with volunteer groups and individuals during disaster response, particularly in repacking food packs and in loading and unloading of relief goods, among others.

DSWD among top performers, most trusted gov’t agency in OCTA-sponsored survey

The DSWD welcomed the results of the Tugon Ng Masa survey, commissioned by the think tank OCTA Research, that showed the social protection agency as among the most trusted and top performing agencies for the second quarter this year.

Based on the poll results survey conducted from July 22 to 26 and released on Monday (August 21), the DSWD and the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) were the two most trusted government agencies with 78 percent trust rating, followed by the Department of Health (DoH), with 77 percent; Department of Education (DepEd), 75 percent; and the Philippine National Police (PNP) 74 percent.

DSWD Assistant Secretary Romel Lopez thanked the Filipino people for their continuing trust and confidence in the Department, through its various programs that give direct service to poor families and vulnerable sectors.

“On behalf of Secretary Rex Gatchalian and the whole DSWD family, I would like to extend our gratitude to the Filipino people for their continued confidence and trust in the Department,” Asst. Sec. Lopez, who is also the DSWD spokesperson, said.

The five agencies also topped the list of 25 government agencies in terms of performance ratings, with at least three-fourths of the 1,200 respondents saying they were satisfied with their performance. Their ratings were in the following order: CHEd, 80 percent; DepEd, 79 percent; PNP, 76 percent; DOH, 75 percent; and DSWD, 73 percent.

“We in the DSWD are really humbled. We owe this high rating to our hardworking and dedicated staff and partners who continue to ensure that we provide the best quality service to our Kababayans in need,” Asst. Sec. Lopez pointed out.

“We will use this survey result as a source of inspiration to strengthen and improve our delivery of services and programs under the leadership of Secretary Gatchalian,” the DSWD spokesperson added.

The PAHAYAG 2023 second quarter survey also showed the DSWD as among the top trusted government agencies with a 65 percent approval rating.

About 1,500 respondents across the country participated in the poll which was conducted from June 8 to 12 by PAHAYAG, an independent and non-commissioned survey conducted by PUBLiCUS Asia Inc.

The DSWD continues to implement big-ticket programs that address poverty and hunger. These are the flagship projects such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP), the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services Kalahi-CIDSS), the Assistance for Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) and the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens, among others.

The latest DSWD flagship project is the Food Stamp Program (FSP), which aims to provide food augmentation to the bottom one million households from Listahanan 3, who belong to the food poor criteria as defined by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

The Food Stamp Program has been piloted in Tondo, Manila in July with President Ferdinand R. Marcos and Vice President Sara Z. Duterte gracing the DSWD-led launch.

Five pilot sites have been identified with “different geopolitical characteristics.” These include the selected cities and municipalities in the National Capital Region, Caraga Region and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The targeted pilots sites are geographically isolated regions, urban poor settings, calamity-stricken areas, and rural poor areas.

“We have to do the pilot at 3,000 families; 300,000 hopefully next year sa first run; another 300,000 right after and then hopefully, reach the magic number of one million in the succeeding year,” Secretary Gatchalian said in an earlier interview.

Target beneficiaries or those families whose income does not go beyond P8,000 a month will be given electronic benefit card or ‘tap cards’ which will be loaded with food credits amounting to P3,000.