THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) yesterday vowed to boost and improve its social protection programs to better serve disadvantaged and marginalized Filipinos after the Marcos administration received a majority satisfactory rating in the last quarter of 2024 for its performance and delivery of services to the public.
“As the lead agency in social protection, the DSWD expressed its commitment to enhancing the implementation of social protection programs to better serve the disadvantaged and marginalized Filipinos,” DSWD Assistant Secretary and spokeswoman Irene Dumlao said.
Dumlao welcomed the December SWS results which showed the administration gained a 59 percent satisfaction rating for its performance in the last quarter of 2024, including scoring a majority satisfaction rating in helping victims of disasters at +65, improving the quality of children’s education at +60, and helping the poor at +57.
The administration also received “good” satisfaction ratings in ensuring food security at +46 and in preparing for problems caused by climate change at +38.
“We thank the Filipino people for their trust in the government. Rest assured that the positive ratings will serve as an inspiration for the whole DSWD to contribute to the overall success of the Marcos administration and to provide quality, efficient, and inclusive programs and services under the leadership of Secretary Gatchalian,” Dumlao said.
Dumlao, the Assistant Secretary of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG), said the Buong Bansa Handa (BBH) program enabled the department to quickly meet the needs of disaster-stricken families through the distribution of food packs and non-food relief items with the help of local governments and private partners like supermarkets, manufacturers and distributors.
DSWD also has a Disaster Response Command Center (DRCC), Mobile Command Centers (MCCs), and mobile kitchens to improve its disaster response,
Dumlao said other DSWD programs are mandated to provide social protection to the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged sectors, and invest in human capital development. These include the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), First 1,000 Days (F1KD) grant, Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS), Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), and the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS), which all provide beneficiaries with cash assistance.
Other programs are the Walang Gutom Program to address food security and bring down the incidence of involuntary hunger among low-income households, and the Walang Gutom Kitchen to address involuntary hunger and reduce food wastage by turning donated surplus food from hotels, restaurants, and organizations into hot meals for the hungry.
Dumlao said the DSWD had also done its share in helping maintain agricultural productivity during dry periods and managing excess water during periods of heavy rainfall associated with the La Niña through its Project LAWA (Local Adaptation to Water Access) at BINHI (Breaking Insufficiency through Nutritious Harvest for the Impoverished) that is implemented in coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Agriculture (DA), University of the Philippines – Los Baños (UPLB), and the United Nations World Food Programme (UN-WFP).
DSWD has also entered into a partnership with the Department of Education for the implementation of the Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program which assists incoming Grade 2 students who are non-readers or struggling with reading. Poor college students enrolled in state or local universities and colleges tutor the children and are paid under a cash-for-work (CFW) arrangement.