The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has recently ordered to postpone the payment of cash grants to the beneficiaries of the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) program due to the current Election Ban per Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Resolution No. 10429.

In a memorandum issued by the Office of the Assistant Secretary and Deputy Program Director of the UCT Program dated March 29, 2019 on the cancellation of scheduled UCT payouts nationwide, it was affirmed that the request for exemption of the DSWD was not yet acted upon by the poll body.

Despite being a high priority project of the government, it was decided however that the safest course of action is to postpone the payment of cash grants until the request for exemption is granted by the COMELEC.

Meanwhile, the COMELEC released a new resolution dated April 1, 2019 allowing the department to conduct payout to the household-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and to continue the implementation of the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) even during election period. (Read here: https://www.dswd.gov.ph/dswd-to-continue-its-programs-and-services-during-election-period/)

In Region 9, the UCT Regional Project Management Office (RPMO) together with the National Household Targeting Unit (NHTU) have already conducted a series of payout activities to those household beneficiaries that were validated and identified by the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) or Listahanan, since November of last year.

“With respect to Field Office 9, we have already commenced the Over-the-Counter (OTC) payout to all identified beneficiaries in the region. Although, some beneficiaries, specifically from Zamboanga del Sur, were left unpaid due to the fact that the municipalities in the province were requested by the bank to be paid through conduits,” said Atty. Johanna Marie Ruiz, UCT Regional Field Coordinator.

Atty. Ruiz also assured that the funds intended for the program are being secured by the disbursing entity. 

“Due to the foregoing circumstance, we would like to assure the public that all funds necessary for the implementation of the program are being kept safe by the LBP and shall be given to all identified beneficiaries, as soon as the procurement process of the bank has been completed and the DSWD has been given the exemption to proceed with the program by the COMELEC,” she expressed.

Furthermore, she reiterated that the funds shall not be used in other agenda aside from meeting the objective of the program. “The funds would NOT be used for any political agency or any other purpose aside from the true intention of the program and of the law,” she ended.

The UCT is a program of the DSWD that aims to mitigate the effects of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law particularly to poor households and individuals that may not benefit from the lower income tax rates but may be adversely affected by rising market prices.

It is currently implemented nationwide covering all 4Ps households, beneficiaries of the Social Pension Program, and other poor households (with estimated incomes falling below the poverty thresholds) identified by Listahanan. ###

The Field Office 9 of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) received two national recognitions in the recently concluded 2018 Program on Awards and Incentives for Service Excellence (PRAISE) held on March 29 at Diosdado Macapagal Auditorium, Landbank Plaza, Malate, Manila.

The Regional Information Officer of the Social Marketing Unit (SMU) Ivan Eric C. Salvador emerged as the Best Support Staff for 2018 while the SMU was recognized as 2^nd Best Support Office.

“I would like to share the success to all the men and women who have significantly molded and engaged with me in all of my communication and advocacy works. This recognition is our shared success, for without the support and collaboration, I cannot be effective and efficient,” expressed Salvador. 

As head of the SMU, he spearheads the formulation and execution of the regional communication plan, which revolves on implementing different activities and strategies along communication, public relations, mass media, social marketing and advocacy geared towards increasing public awareness of the department’s programs and services, and building support from the different stakeholders using various communication channels.

Now, he is accordingly looking forward to a more productive year in helping the organization by coming up with new innovations and rendering more valuable contributions.

“I am looking forward for more opportunities to utilize my skills and energies to help not only our clients and beneficiaries but also our staff who need most of our technical asistance,” he added.

The Best Support Staff Award was given to Salvador for his significant support to the operations of the office through communication and advocacy activities, thereby contributing to the heightened awareness, appreciation and support to the agency’s programs, projects, and services by the clients, partners and the general public.

On the other hand, the SMU is the primary unit in the field office with the responsibility to undertake advocacy, publicity, and networking activities which shall embody the Vision, Mission, and the Goal of the department to promote social change, and to nurture relationships with the general public and partner stakeholders. In doing so, the SMU is tasked to implement communication and advocacy plans to raise awareness on the different programs and services of DSWD.

Apart from Salvador, the said unit is likewise comprised of various information officers of key programs namely; Fung Kay B. Choi (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program), Bernely Sheilaine N. De Leon (Sustainable Livelihood Program), Jonabeth C. Agana (KALAHI-CCIDSS), and Mumar I. Ibbin (Listahanan). Meanwhile, Juvelyn T. Sanogal serves as the administrative staff or secretary of SMU.

“May this recognition manifest the commitment and dedication we have to public service. May this inspire more workers in the department to work hard with embedded values with them. Strive to innovate and calibrate new ideas to introduce high impact breakthroughs contributing to the operation and implementation of the different programs and services of DSWD,” he said. 

Through the years, the SMU has served as a model office in portraying good performance, complete and effective staff work and exemplary practices.

“The values embodied in all of the staff are magnified in all of their undertakings. The unit has continuously served as the senses of the department by visualizing new communication strategies, listening to the people, and speaking for truth and rightful information,” he ended. 

During the awarding ceremony, the Financial Management Division (Field Office 3) and Standards Section (Field Office 10) were adjudged as 2018’s 1^st and 3^rd Best Support Offices respectively.

The Best Support Office Award aims to recognize offices that are able to provide support to the operations of the agency, making sure that the Major Final Outputs (MFOs) namely Social Protection Policy Services, Social Policy Services, Capacity Building Services, and Regulatory Services shall be effectively delivered to clients and intermediaries.

Aside from Salvador and the SMU, the regional awardees of the DSWD PRAISE 2018 for Best Division Chief (Asst. Regional Director for Operations- Fatima S. Caminan) and Best Social Worker (Teddy A. Kahil) were also shortlisted as one of the top three semi-finalists in their respective nominations. ARDO Caminan accompanied the national awardees from the region during the recognition rites. ###

The Field Office 9 conducted various activities to highlight and honor the achievements of the women sector in observance of the 2019 Women’s Month Celebration with the theme “We Make Change Work for Women.”

“As the lead agency in social protection, we would like to acknowledge the contributions of women in nation-building and educate them of the various laws protecting their rights,” said Protective Services Division (PSD) Chief Marilyn D. Fabian.

Headed by the PSD in partnership with the Sectoral Unit and the Social Marketing Unit (SMU), the department commenced the month-long celebration through hanging of tarpaulins in the field office, Centers and Residential Care Facilities (CRCF), and in all of the Social Welfare and Development Teams (SWADTs) across the region to show support of women empowerment.

The regional agency also participated during the annual Dia de Las Mujeres parade and fund-raising activity spearheaded by the City Government of Zamboanga last March 8. The event started along the RT Lim Boulevard and concluded at the Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex with a short program.

For the whole month of March, the E-Media Mo: Servicio Todo-Todo (DSWD Edition) featured the programs and services of the Home for Women and tackled various issues and concerns on Women with Disabilities, Women and Livelihood, and Women Crisis and Vulnerabilities together with the different focals and heads of the field office invited as guests. 

Likewise, the PSD launched the Women in Action Photo Contest and the Purple Your Workplace Inter-Agency Contest. A 2-Day Seminar on Mental Health and Summer Diseases Awareness was also held on March 27 & 28 at Camp Batalla, RT Lim Boulevard, Zamboanga City.

The celebration of the National Women’s Month is conducted every year as part of the worldwide observance of the International Women’s Day governed by Proclamation No. 224 s. 1988 (Declaring the First Week of March each year as Women’s Week and March 8 as Women’s Rights and International Peace Day); Proclamation No. 227 s. 1988 (Providing for the Observance of the Month of March as Women’s Role in History Month); and Republic Act No. 6949 s. 1990 (Declaring March 8 every year as National Women’s Day).

This year’s celebration is also anchored on the commitment of “Malasakit at Pagbabago” or True Compassion and Real Change. ###

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through the Field Office 9 will start notifying the beneficiaries of the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) Program next week in the Province of Tawi-Tawi.

The National Household Targeting Unit (NHTU) for BaSulTa will be conducting an orientation and coordination meeting together with the local government units (LGUs) of the province and Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) – Bongao branch next week, February 27.

In addition, 44 notifiers will likewise undergo a training to learn about the process of the notification and registration of the UCT-Listahanan beneficiaries prior to their deployment in the 11 municipalities of Tawi-Tawi.  

“We have a total of 117,478 UCT-Listahanan beneficiaries to be notified and registered in the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. Among these areas, Sulu has the biggest target with 79,206 followed by Basilan with 23,194 eligible beneficiaries,” said Ben Nasser B. Isnain, NHTU head.  

In Tawi-Tawi, out of the 17,106 households validated by the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) or Listahanan last year, 15,078 were identified as eligible to receive cash grants from UCT.

Isnain added that among the municipalities in the province, Sitangkai has the most number of target (3,451) while only 93 beneficiaries will come from Turtle Island.

The UCT is a program of the DSWD that aims to mitigate the effects of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law particularly to those who may not benefit from the lower income tax rates but may be adversely affected by rising prices.

It seeks to provide cash grants to poor households and individuals for three consecutive years. During its pilot implementation in 2018, the beneficiaries will receive P2,400 for the year. For 2019 and 2020, the amount shall increase to P3,600 per year.

The UCT is currently implemented nationwide covering all Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) households, beneficiaries of the Social Pension Program, and other poor households (with estimated incomes falling below the poverty thresholds)  identified by Listahanan. ###

As a follow through activity of a high level conference on Social Protection (SP) conducted earlier this year engaging international and local experts,  a regional consultation workshop on enhancing the Philippine Social Protection  Operational Framework was conducted by DSWD-Policy Development and Planning Bureau (PPDB) on September 6-8 at Ever-O Hotel, Zamboanga City.

According to Fe L. Dela Cruz, OIC-Chief of Policy and Plans Division (PPD), the two-day activity aimed to generate inputs from key stakeholders for the revision of the Social Operational Framework and the SP Plan, which should be aligned with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) for 2017-2022.

“At the regional level, various engagements with partner agencies and other stakeholders were undertaken to collate comments and feedback from the SWD sectors as well as to propose strategies and initiatives from a regional perspective,” she added.

Susan C. Valerio, OIC-ARD of National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) – IX presented the Regional Development Plan focusing on social protection mainstreaming a key strategy in operationalizing the PDP.

Dr. Fernando T. Aldaba, Dean and Professor of Economics from the School of Social Sciences of Ateneo de Manila University who is the Consultant for the SP Framework Review, spearheaded the regional consultation and provided salient inputs for the enhancement of the Philippine Social Protection Operational Framework and the Proposed Medium-Term SP Plan.

In line with the operationalization of the PDP, Dela Cruz elicited insights on challenges, policy issues, and gaps in our trasitioning from one medium-term plan to the next onward to attaining the country’s long-term development plan dubbed “Ambisyon Natin 2040.” Valerio cited the limited capacity of the implementing agencies, lack of data from the local level as crucial inputs to planning, continuity of policies and emerging priorities given the changes in administration every three years, and overlapping of funds and resources for some projects as among the challenges in the development strategies execution.

Valerio also underscored the importance of having check and balance through the enhanced participation of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in monitoring and evaluation of the various programs, projects, and services.

The SP is considered as one of the strategies to build the  socio-economic resilience of individuals and families by reducing their vulnerability to various risks and disasters (PDP 2017-2022). The PDP aims to provide universal and transformative social protection that will benefit the entire population. Since 2007, various perspectives and issues and recommendations were raised by different sectors in the course of implementing and mainstreaming social protection.

The two-day activity was attended by 28 participants from regional line agencies, Local Government Units (LGUs), CSOs, and both key technical staff and development planners both from Region IX and ARMM-BaSulTa. ###

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office IX is pleased to announce the conduct of the Second Round of Call for Research Proposals for the year 2018-2019.

Following the previous call in 2016, the DSWD continues to be a recipient of the technical assistance grant under the Direct Funding Agreement No. 70507-1 of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of the Australian Government.

This year, the call for research operates under the theme “DSWD Towards Prompt and Compassionate Programs and Services,” with the objective of producing researches that aim to support, improve, or develop the department’s promotive and protective programs towards prompt and compassionate (maagap at mapagkalingang) service, and/or respond to the issues and concerns affecting the poor, disadvantaged, and marginalized as identified during the 2016 Regional Consultation Workshop for the DSWD 2017-2022 Research Agenda.

Furthermore, it also envisions a wider reach, higher budget ceilings, and longer project durations with a greater lead time and learnings from its predecessor.

The call for research proposals is open to all academic institutions and accredited Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) with demonstrated experience along social protection and social welfare and development. Proponent CSOs must be currently classified as “Accredited” and are prepared

to submit proof of accreditation.

Each DSWD Regional Office is given a slot of two (2) research proposals with funding assistance ranging from P200,000 to P600,000 per proposal.

Research proposals shall be submitted to the Field Office IX not later than October 26, 2018 for review and subsequent submission to Central Office.

Interested researchers may contact Ms. Fe L. Dela

Cruz, OIC-Chief of Policy and Plans Division at (062) 991-6030 or mobile number # 0928-552-5733 and may also personally visit Field Office IX at Gen. Vicente Alvarez St., Zamboanga City. ###

The Field Office 9 is currently preparing for the upcoming notification and registration of 105,972 households as eligible beneficiaries of the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) program.

“As of now, we are finalizing the budgetary requirements to be submitted to Central Office for the implementation of the notification, registration, and payout of the Listahanan – UCT beneficiaries next month,” said Fe L. Dela Cruz, Policy and Plans Division (PPD) Chief.

Earlier this year, the National Household Targeting Unit (NHTU) conducted a validation activity in the entire region to 147,498 target households wherein 117,520 were successfully validated. On the contrary, those that were not validated either had no qualified respondents (at least 15 years of age); households could not be located anymore; family members have already transferred to other areas, or households were totally vacant after three visits were made.

According to Dela Cruz, a statistical model called Proxy Means Test (PMT) was run to identify the potential beneficiaries of the said program. The system was able to estimate family per capita income based on household data collected from validation. After income was estimated, households were accordingly classified as poor or non-poor, applying the official poverty thresholds of the region.

To be exact, there are 4,531 eligible household-beneficiaries in Isabela City, Basilan, 32,310 for Zamboanga del Norte, 49,803 for Zamboanga del Sur, and 19,328 for Zamboanga Sibugay, who will automatically be part of the notification activity next month.

Dela Cruz added that a number of field workers (notifiers) will be deployed throughout the region who will be serving the notice to all identified beneficiaries. The assigned notifier will hand-over the notification form to the beneficiary as a proof that their household has been selected as a recipient of the UCT program.

Furthermore, it will also be explained to the beneficiary that he or she is entitled to receive cash grant amounting to P200 per month (P2,400/year) in 2018 and P300 per month (P3,600/year) in the next two years based on the provisions of the Republic Act No. 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

During the notification stage, the beneficiary will be informed regarding the documentary requirements (accomplished cash card enrolment form, 3 pcs. 2×2 colored photos, notification form), location, date, and time of the scheduled registration in order to be enrolled to a Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) cash card account.

On the other hand, there will be two modes of registration activities that will be managed by the field office. For Geographically-Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA), the personnel from the regional office will facilitate in barangays under GIDA the registration process by collecting all the accomplished forms provided during the notification activity and log the documents submitted to them. Meanwhile, for Non-GIDA, the personnel will hold the registration in an area accessible to the beneficiaries in coordination with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Philippine National Police (PNP). After the registration, the beneficiaries will be informed of the target schedule and venue for payout.

The UCT program is one of the social mitigating measures identified in TRAIN Law which seeks to reduce the impact of increase in prices of products affected by the tax reform, therefore, protecting the economic welfare of the poor (and vulnerable) who will not benefit from lower income taxes but rather will be adversely affected by the rising prices.  ###

“This building shall stand as a symbol of the agency’s core value of Maagap at Mapagkalingang Serbisyo,” expressed Aisyl A. Sagoso, Social Welfare and Development Team (SWADT) leader during the inauguration of the two-storey SWADT Building on July 24 at Brgy. Sunrise, Isabela City, Basilan.

“Finally, our clients, beneficiaries, and partner stakeholders will no longer take a deep breath and take the stairs only to reach the 3rd floor of the infirmary building where we used to have our office,” added Sagoso.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Regional Director, Atty. Araceli F. Solamillo led the official ribbon-cutting ceremony together with Assistant Regional Director for Operations (ARDO), Carmencita S. Luna.

In her inaugural speech, Atty. Solamillo expressed her gratitude to the City Government of Isabela for the donation of the 100 square meter-lot in 2015.

“I am very grateful to the local government for the support they have been giving us especially to Vice Mayor Cherrylyn S. Akbar,” she said.

According to Atty. Solamillo, the construction of the P2.3 million building began on October 13, 2016 and ended on March 13, this year.

The new SWADT building is a manifestation of the agency’s commitment to provide a conducive working environment to its workers and to bring closer to the people the different social welfare programs and services of the department, especially to the poor, vulnerable, and disadvantaged.

Furthermore, aside from reminiscing the developmental years of the field office, Atty. Solamillo also revealed that her best years in life are spent with the agency.  “Although I am a lawyer but I must say that I am a full-blooded social worker. I do not practice Law because I love my profession,” she said.

Other personalities present during the event were Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer (PSWDO) Anwary Akalun, City Councilor Abner Rodriguez, and City Administrator Engr. Edgardo Halasan, among others. ###