The Regional Juvenile Justice and Welfare Committee (RJJWC) Bicol and local government units (LGUs) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the convergence program for the children-at-risk (CAR) and children in conflict with the law (CICL) last November 25, 2019 at La Edley Food Services and Recreational Center, Legazpi City, Albay.

The convergence program also known as Bugkos-Paglaom will create a local referral network to improve the coordinative mechanism between RJJWC and pilot municipalities namely Ligao, City in Albay, Castilla in Sorsogon and Bato in Camarines Sur to the needs of CAR and CICL.

The LGUs were identified based on their receptiveness and the functionality of Local Councils for the Protection of Children (LCPCs), active Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and Civic Society Organizations (CSOs) which could capacitate the LCPCs in performing their roles and functions.

“Bugkos-Paglaom is the first convergence program in the Philippines that caters to CAR and CICL,” Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Regional Director Arnel B. Garcia said.

The program shall be implemented for three (3) years from 2020 until 2022 to decrease the incidence rate of CAR and CICL and respond to the needs of the children.

RJJWC was created through the Republic Act 9344 as amended by Republic Act 10630. The committee ensures the effective implementation of the law by monitoring, overseeing and providing necessary technical assistance to the LGUs and LCPCs.

The regional committee members specifically Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Health (DOH), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Education (DepEd), Philippine National Police (PNP), Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), National Youth Commission (NYC), EDUCO Philippines, Children International Bicol Inc., different LGU leagues and youth representative are led by DSWD Regional Director Garcia, the RJJWC chairperson. /ramsertan/

Print this entry

Community volunteers, LGU officials and partners attend the Municipal Bayani Ka! Awards last November 25, 2019 at San Jacinto, Masbate.

The local government unit (LGU) of San Jacinto, Masbate honored community volunteers during the Municipal Bayani Ka! Awards last November 25, 2019.

San Jacinto is the fourth municipality that adopted the Department of Social Welfare and Development Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services’ (DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS’) Bayani Ka! Awards in the Bicol Region.

The first Municipal Bayani Ka! Awards was initiated by the municipality of Bato in Catanduanes last 2016 while Casiguran in Sorsogon and Mandaon in Masbate followed.

Moreover, the awarding ceremony was launched in 2014 to recognize exemplary communities and partners that engaged in DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS and whose efforts remarkably furthered the compassionate collective action in their municipalities.

The municipality funded the said event amounting to Php270,000.00.

The nominees were evaluated based on Bayani Ka! Awards’ criteria specifically on their selflessness to serve (20%), ability (20%), persuasion (20%), attitude and motivation (20%) and integrity (20%).

Here is the list of municipal winners:

During the ceremony, Cerconsecion Escorel, a community volunteer of Barangay Jagna-an who was honored as Best BSPMC Chairperson shared how DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS made her realized that her capabilities can be used at a good cost.

“Hindi man tayo mayaman at kulang ang ating kaalaman ngunit mayroon tayong oras at lakas handang ilaan sa komunidad (We may not be rich and don’t have the knowledge, but we have time and strength that are ready to devote to the community),” she said.

Print this entry

Legazpi City – The Regional Sub-Committee for the Welfare of Children (RSCWC) Bicol will award the Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance (SCFLG) to 100 out of 114 local government units (LGUs) in the region on November 29, 2019 at Legazpi City Convention Center.

“The SCFLG aims to recognize model LGUs that upheld the four (4) core rights of the child: survival, development, protection and participation through planning, budgeting, legislation and delivery of services,” Director Arnel B. Garcia, the RSCWC chairperson.

Furthermore, Naga City in Camarines Sur, Ligao City and Libon in Albay will be the regional finalists for Independent Component City, Component City and 1^st – 3^rd class municipality categories, respectively for 2018 Presidential Award for Child-Friendly Municipalities and Cities (PACFMC) on November 28, 2019 at Malacañan Palace, Metro Manila.

The Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) launched the Child-Friendly Philippines framework last 2014 that included the SCFLG, a recognition for LGUs with positive results for children in implementing programs and instituting measures to uplift the welfare status of children.

The SCFLG is complemented by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memorandum Circular of 2014-80 endorsing the Child-Friendly Local Governance Audit (CFLGA) to all Provincial Governors, City and Municipal Mayors, the ARMM Regional Governor, DILG Regional Directors and other concerned parties.

The annual audit is spearheaded by the Inter-Agency Monitoring Task Force (IMTF) composed of DILG together with DSWD, Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH) and National Nutrition Council (NNC).

LGUs that will pass the CFLGA will be conferred by CWC for SCFLG. The LGUs shall be assessed based on the twelve (12) assessment criteria:

1. Percentage reduction in the deaths among children below five (5) years old
2. Percentage reduction in children 0-59 months who are underweight
3. Percentage increase in daycare attendance
4. Percentage increase in the completion rate of elementary schooling
5. Absence of child labor or percentage reduction in child labor cases
6. Percentage reduction in the number of children victims of violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation and trafficking in person
7. Safety measures for children in the community and schools
8. Ordinance regulating the seating capacity of tricycles or jeepneys and other modes of public transport
9. Ordinance prohibiting the selling of firecrackers to children
10. Mainstreaming of children’s rights to survival, development, protection in the core development agenda of the LGU
11. Annual Investment Program
12. Total budget of LGU
13. Budget allocated for children’s program
14. Budget utilized for children’s program
15. Annual State of Children’s Report
16. Local Code for Children
17. City/Municipal Council for the Protection of Children (C/MCPC) Functionality
18. Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC) Functionality
19. Child participation in BCPC
20. An ordinance or executive order establishing Barangay Violence Against Women and their Children (VAW/C) desks
21. Philhealth Accreditation in its main health facility or rural health unit for the maternal and primary care services.
22. A Local School Board (LSB) Plan that is aligned with the School Improvement Plan (SIP)
23. Completed at least 70% of its LSB Plan for current school year

Conferees of SCFLG are shortlisted and validated for the PACFMC. (with reports from CWC) /ramsertan/

Print this entry

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office V has its stockpiles ready for the effects of Tropical Storm Ramon.

According to the latest Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Service Administration (PAGASA) weather bulletin at 5:00 pm today, provinces of Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon are under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) number 1 while Catanduanes is under TCWS number 2.

Based on the November 13, 2019 Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) report for Bicol, there are 23,143 family food packs (FFPs) available at the DSWD Warehouse located in Bogtong, Legazpi City.

Other food items at the DSWD warehouse are still for repacking which includes the following items: 1,470 sacks of NFA rice, 420 boxes of Argentina beef loaf, 556 boxes of Gold Cup sardines, 1,205 boxes of Youngstown corned beef and 490 boxes of Mas Kape 3-in-1 coffee.

Non-food items are also available such as 79 sets of tents, 8,047 boxes of sleeping kit, five (5) pieces of dignity kit, 1,093 boxes of family kit, 2,827 boxes of hygiene kit, 681 kitchen kits, 49,941 pieces of malong, 82 rolls of laminated sacks and 26,338 pieces of blanket.

The DSWD Field Office V has Php3,000,000.00 stand by funds for disaster operations.

.Moreover, DSWD FO V Disaster Response and Management Division (DRMD) is closely monitoring the weather updates and information while the DSWD FO V Quick Response Teams (QRTs) were alerted and advised to be prepared for augmentation support needed from the field and/or 24/7 duty at the DRMD Operation Center.

The Provincial Action Team (PAT) and City/Municipal Action team (C/MAT) members in the six provinces are on standby. The DSWD employees deployed in different cities/municipalities were instructed to coordinate with the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices (LDRRMOs) for status reports and updates. /ramsertan/

Print this entry

Members of Pagao Waterworks and Sanitation Association Incorporated check the pipeline network to ensure the long-term benefits of water system sub-project funded by DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS at Barangay Pagao, Bombon, Camarines Sur.

Empowerment is a power, right, authority to do something but it does not only revolve on self- confidence or the freedom to claim one’s rights.

Every citizen always has a goal to contribute something great for the community but doesn’t have the power to create projects.

With the push from the Department of Social Welfare and Development Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS), the communities used their goal and resources as a driving force to claim their right on deciding for the local growth.

One of these communities is Pagao Waterworks and Sanitation Association (PAWASA), Incorporated, an operations and maintenance group of Barangay Pagao, Bombon, Camarines Sur formed through the Community-Driven Development (CDD) strategy of DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS.

The CDD is an approach that operates on the principles of transparency, participation, accountability and enhanced local capacity by giving control over planning decisions and resources.

The PAWASA oversees the water system sub-project funded by DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS to ensure the clean water supply is provided to the barangay and other nearby communities.

SUFFERING FROM WATER SUPPLY

Barangay Pagao proposed the water system sub-project so that community members will not suffer from water shortage and unsafe drinking water.

According to Jose Camalla, 65, community volunteer and president of PAWASA Inc., people used to travel to downtown Bombon just to get water supply and it takes half a day to transport the containers by boat.

“Umaabot sa lima hanggang walong piso ang presyo ng isang container ng tubig. Mahaba ang proses makakuha lang ng tubig (A container of water ranges from Php5.00 to Php8.00 depending on its size. It takes a long process just to get water.),” Camalla explained.

The community project was granted in 2013 with 12 units of Level II tap stands to cater 140 households. After a year, the barangay decided to convert the water system to Level III, a piped distribution network with private connection or household taps.

According to Delia Segovia, 68, a resident of Barangay Pagao, community members have saved money from Php100.00 a day to buy water in downtown Bombon to Php13.00 a day or Php400.00 a month through the water system sub-project.

“Hindi na kami nahihirapan magbitbit ng mga container ng tubig dahil mismong sa bahay namin makakakuha na ng tubig (We won’t suffer anymore from carrying the water containers because the water supply is already available in our homes),” she explained.

FORMATION OF PAWASA

Now on its 6^th year of operation, the PAWASA, Inc. was established on June 13, 2013, aiming to give high-quality water to the members of the community as well as strengthen the cooperation of the community on the duties and responsibilities in ensuring the durability of the sub-project.

According to Camalla, the association collects Php30.00 per cubic liter as a tariff for the maintenance services of the project. Through their collection, they were able to purchase a 115 square-meter land and construct an office for the organization.

They also extended their services to nearby communities like Barangay Carigsa in Magarao, Camarines Sur with 22 households.

“Napapaunlad namin ang operasyon ng proyekto dahil hindi kami nagkakainteres para sa aming pansariling kapakanan (We were able to expand the operations of the project because we are not thinking of personal interest),” he said.

Through the DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS,  the government invests in human capital by capacitating community members to take ownership of the community projects they have implemented that will bring long-term benefits.

By giving people access to resources, trainings and participation in decision-making processes to implement community projects is like providing them a chance to prove themselves as agents for sustainable development. /ramsertan/

About DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS

Camarines Sur implemented DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS in 37 municipalities with a total implementation grant of Php1,971,728,065.54 and local counterpart contribution of Php 75,532,942.01 from barangay and municipal local government units (LGUs) to fund community-managed sub-projects.

DSWD had allocated Bombon with Php 24,699,200.00 and local counterpart contribution of Php 1,256,56.75.

Barangay Pagao has three (3) completed community projects from different modalities that benefitted 177 households.

Here’s the list of sub-projects according to fund source:

For more details about DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS, follow this link:

http://ncddp.dswd.gov.ph/site/faqs

Print this entry

The relief augmentation from DSWD Bicol for the Mindanao quake-hit areas is scheduled to depart this Saturday afternoon and expected to arrive Mindanao two or three days after.

The DSWD Bicol relief augmentation will be turned over to DSWD Region XII in Kidapawan City, Cotabato.

The augmentation includes the following:
1. 20,000 blankets
2. 20,000 pieces of malong
3. 300 tents
4. 200 rolls of laminated sacks (good for 2,000 houses -1 roll at 100 meters good for 10 houses at 10 meters per house)

DSWD Bicol coordinated with the Office of Presidential Adviser for Bicol Affairs (OPABA) through Usec. Marvel Clavecilla to request from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region V for the additional two (2) flatbed trucks together with DSWD Bicol’s winged van to ferry the abovementioned goods.

Print this entry

Legazpi City- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD),through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) or Listahanan has deployed its field workers last Friday to kick-off the 3rd household assessment in the Bicol region.

More than 2,000 field workers will be deployed in the entire region to collect data from households starting October until December.
A household is a social unit consisting of a person living alone or a group of persons who sleep in the same housing unit and have common arrangement in the preparation and consumption of food.

“All households in the rural areas will be interviewed and an asessment will also be conducted in urban villages with pockets of poverty where clusters of poor reside,”explained DSWD Director Arnel Garcia.

Director Garcia urged the public to cooperate in the assessment by providing accurate information to the enumerators.
He further acknowledge the support of the local government units (LGUs) and other partners in the successful implementation of the household assessment.

“The result of the assessment will update the agency’s 2015 list of poor households. Further,this will serve as basis of national government agencies and other stakeholders in developing programs and identifying families who are qualified to receive assistance.” Garcia added.

DSWD,DILG partnership in the household assessment

Last October 7, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been forged between DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista and DILG Undersecretary Martin Dino which aims to strengthen collaborative efforts between the two agencies in the household assessment implementation.

In the said MOU, the DILG enjoins all City/Municipal/Barangay Officials to assist in all phases of the assessment.Specifically, the LGUs will designate a Listahanan Focal Person,assist the DSWD in household mapping to facilitate efficient and complete assessment,conduct barangay assemblies to inform the public and orient the residents to make themselves available on the assessment period, prepare the masterlist of the residents for reference and monitoring of Listahanan field personnel. Likewise, the LGUs will provide guides to the Listahanan personnel especially in the far-flung areas, access available facilities e.g use of barangay halls,issue certificate of completion confirming that all households were visited, and creation of the Barangay Verification Team (BVT) and Local Verification Committee (LVC) through a Barangay/Local Ordinance to resolve and evaluate grievances after the initial list of poor are posted in their respective areas.

Based on the 2015 data,1,082,582 households were assessed and 372,451 households were identified as poor in the Bicol region.

These poor households have become beneficiaries of the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT), a program under national government’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, or the Republic Act 10963, which provides cash assistance to indigent Filipinos amounting to PHP200 per month in 2018; and PHP300 per month in 2019 and 2020. Also, the Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) which supports poor students in paying tuition fees and miscellaneous fees.

Listahanan is the DSWD’s information management system that identifies who and where the poor are.The data generated makes available to government or private stakeholders as basis in the identification of social protection beneficiaries.###

Print this entry

The Department of Social Welfare and Development Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS) will train community-based groups and Barangay Development Councils (BDCs) in 59 municipalities of Bicol Region this October until December 2019.

The Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Training will strengthen the community-based groups in ensuring the sustainability of community projects. The training with a total fund of Php7,901,750.00 will be implemented in 52 municipalities.

The activity will cater to newly established O&M groups, community-based organizations that were provided training last 2017 and 2018, and O&M groups with complex-type sub-projects.

“The training will help communities look after their sub-projects to achieve long-term benefits,” Director Arnel Garcia explained.

Here’s the list of municipalities that are included in the O&M Training:

The municipalities were identified based on the Sustainability Evaluation Test (SET) results, the capacity of O&M groups and income-generating projects.

On the other hand, the DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS will also conduct the Makilahok project with a total cost of Php14,324,150.00 to train BDCs.

The project is part of the continuing technical assistance and capacity-building intervention of DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS to reinforce Local Government Unit (LGUs) in strengthening community participation in the local development process.

“Last 2018, DSWD Bicol conducted Makilahok in 23 municipalities. For this year, it will be rolled out in 16 municipalities as part of CDD Institutionalization efforts to integrate the CDD tools and mechanisms in the barangay development planning process,” Dir. Garcia said.

The municipalities that will undergo training are the following:

Note: Municipalities with (*) are not covered in O&M Training

Participants are expected to craft and develop barangay CDD implementation plans that highlight the integration of CDD approach at each stage of the development planning process. /ramsertan/

Print this entry