A Laguna congresswoman said she wants to put up a government scholarship program for deserving students to pursue social work as a profession in the country.

In filing House Bill 6910 titled “An Act Establishing a Social Work Scholarship Program for Deserving Students, and Appropriating Funds Therefor,” Rep. Ruth Mariano-Hernandez (2nd District, Laguna) aims to establish a social work scholarship program (SWSP) for deserving students under the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The envisioned program “shall comprehensively address the dearth of social workers across the country.”

In the explanatory note of HB 6910, Rep. Mariano-Hernandez said that there is “a shortage in the number of social workers urgently needed to provide dedicated service to the disadvantaged sectors and communities across the country.”

Citing data from the DSWD inventory of its employees, there are 6,796 registered social workers across the country as of July 31, 2022.

On the other hand, according to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) there are 9,541 social welfare positions across the government bureaucracy.

Of this number, there are 2,010 positions that have yet to be filled as of June 30, 2022.

These posts include those for licensed Social Workers: Social Welfare Officer, Social Worker, Social Welfare and Development Officer, Provincial/City/Municipal Social Welfare Officer; and for non-licensed Social Workers: Social Welfare Assistant, and Social Welfare Aide, in National Government Agencies (NGAs) and local government units (LGUs).

“House Bill 6910 conceives the SWSP program as a long-term effort to ensure the stability of the DSWD programs and all current and future social welfare and development entities in the country.

It likewise encourages deserving and qualified students to pursue social work and development and eventually enter into public service.

The SWSP program opens up opportunities for students to engage in a fulfilling and purposeful profession, which would enable them to confront social and other socio-economic issues and thereby impact the lives of people,” Rep. Mariano-Hernandez said.

This social work scholarship program will help deserving students pursue social work education and training, with the aim of rendering qualified and licensed professional social work services, at the DSWD Central Office, DSWD Field Offices, government hospitals, government residential care facilities, local government unit social work offices or institutions in their respective hometowns, in any underserved municipality or city in any province, as part of their integration into the government social welfare service system.

The SWSP, as proposed in House Bill 6910, is for deserving Filipino students who want to pursue a degree in Social Work.

It shall provide student financial assistance to include the following: free tuition, miscellaneous, and other school fees; allowance for prescribed books, supplies and equipment; clothing or uniform allowance; allowance for dormitory or boarding house accommodation; transportation allowance; on the job training fees and expenses, Social Work licensure examination review fees; Social Work License fees; annual medical insurance; and other education-related subsistence or living allowances.

The DSWD is the primary government agency mandated to develop, implement and coordinate social protection and poverty-reduction solutions for and with the poor, the vulnerable and the disadvantaged.

House Bill (HB) No. 6910 is currently pending with the Committee on Higher and Technical Education.