The Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo visited Zamboanga City during the weekend to primarily assess and check the operations of the various centers under Region IX.

During her visit, she had the chance to dialogue with the remaining 227 repatriates out of 430 who arrived from Malaysia last March 1, 2017 and currently being sheltered in the Processing Center for Displaced Person (PCDP). As of March 3, DSWD was able to provide necessary interventions such as food, shelter, clothing and transportation among these deportees amounting to 289,370 pesos.

DSWD Regional Director Atty.Araceli F. Solamillo assured the DSWD Secretary that the center is always equipped with staff to do the intake and profiling of the arriving deportees with standby funds and food supplies to accommodate them. The secretary herself was able to observe the commitment of the staff in ensuring the welfare of the deportees while in the center.

In 2016, DSWD Field Office IX was able to serve a total of 17,724 deportees where 12,912 are males and 4,812 are females. A total amount of 17,028,070 were given in all forms of assistance. DSWD taps the Department of Health to provide medical assessment and consultation to all arriving repatriates.

During her visit, she also met with Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Isabelle “Beng” Climaco-Salazar where she had a courtesy call and dialogue in the presence of key officials and division chiefs of DSWD and Local Government Unit.

Sec. Taguiwalo also went to inspect DSWD’s Crisis Intervention Unit and Regional Youth Hostel to see what else can be improved on the services rendered to the clients. She expressed her gratitude to the workers for rendering their duties even until Sunday to provide assistance to walk-in clients. She also visited other centers such as Reception and Study Center for Children (RSCC) as well as the Home for the Elderly in Talon-Talon, Zamboanga City.

She also had the opportunity to meet the employees of Field Office IX where she presented the new direction of the department embracing the new Vision and Mission, Brand and Organizational Outcomes. She  gave emphasis on the importance of the protective services, “ito ang frontline na services para sa ating mga mamayan, ang Crisis Intervention Unit natin at ang mga Centers. Ang mga Centers talaga natin hindi man kasing dami ng promotive pero nagproprovide siya talaga ng malaking serbisyo. Para sa mga bata at kababaihan natin na nasa centers, it is only DSWD can provide them these services and so we have to make it better”, Sec. Taguiwalo said during the dialogue. ###