PBBM asked to choose DSWD head with compassion for poor
PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has been urged to choose a Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) secretary who has no plans to run for an elective position.
“We would urge the President to appoint a DSWD secretary who is not interested or involved in politics, and who has a lot of compassion for the poor and marginalized,” House Minority Leader Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan said.
“The country does not need a DSWD head who is keen on running for public office in the 2025 or 2028 elections,” Libanan said.
A department chief who has his or her sights set on a future election would be easily distracted at work, Libanan pointed out.
In the 2023 General Appropriations Law, Libanan said the DSWD has a budget of P4.12 billion for Disaster Response and Management, including P1.75 billion for a Quick Response Fund (QRF).
The QRF is a stand-by fund for rehabilitation and relief activities, including the prepositioning of goods and equipment to help quickly normalize living conditions in communities hit by calamities and other emergencies.
Undersecretary Edu Punay, a former journalist, has been designated DSWD officer-in-charge.
