Last year, the Department of Social Welfare and Development Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS) completed 223 sub-projects with a grant of Php507,337,810.94 in 55 municipalities of the Bicol Region.

According to Director Arnel Garcia, 43,641 households are benefitting from these projects.

“The projects were identified by the community members themselves based on their needs through the Community-Driven Development (CDD) approach,” Garcia added.

CDD is a globally-recognized strategy that gives communities control over planning, implementing, and decision-making for local development.

The table below shows the community projects according to its category:

“DSWD is not mainly focused on constructing infrastructure projects but also in capacitating communities along project management and operation, and maintenance,” he said.

Director Garcia also added that these projects will continuously provide benefits to future generations through the sustainability efforts of the communities.

Kalahi-CIDSS is one of the poverty alleviation programs of DSWD aimed at empowering barangays to achieve improve access to services and to participate in more inclusive local planning, budgeting and implementation. /ramsertan/

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Valuing the health and safety of society’s most vulnerable, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) of the Bicol region started an information drive about the Novela
Corona Virus (NCoV) integrating it in the Family Development Sessions (FDS) conducted for beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

This February 10, 2020, DSWD Field Office V Regional Director Arnel B. Garcia, CESO II signed a memorandum directing the department’s city/municipal links to include educational
discussions about the NCoV in the FDS.

The informative talks would include timely information of what the NCoV is, its symptoms, mode of transmission, preventive measures, and an overview on proper sanitation, hand washing, and hygiene.

Integrating the said information drive in the FDS is a timely and strategic move, with FDS being one of the prime conditions in 4Ps inclusion. The City/Municipal Links of DSWD have been instructed to coordinate with the nearest City/Municipal Health Office, located in their respective area of assignment, for planning of the FDS schedule.

Informative and educational communication (IEC) materials, provided by the Department of Health (DOH), will also be utilized in the FDS in order to maximize the people’s understanding
of this new illness.

It can be recalled that the NCoV is a new strain of virus that broke out in the East Asian region earlier this year. According to the World Health Organization, this strain of virus has not been
previously identified in humans.

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A vision is a worthy achievement if it is accomplished through diligence and hard work compared to a goal attained with shortcuts or the absence of commitment.

Cerconsecion Escorel, 28, a community volunteer of Barangay Jagna-an in San Jacinto, Masbate shared her sacrifice in achieving their goal of improved access from their community to the municipality’s población.

“Nahihirapan kaming tahakin ang aming daan tuwing luluwas kami papunta sa aming bayan dahil sa napakalubak ng aming daan tuwing tag-init at madulas naman kung tag-ulan (There’s a difficulty when traveling to the municipal main district because the road is rock-strewn during the humid season while slippery during the rainy season),” Escorel said.

For Manilyn Lique, 26, a resident of Barangay Jagna-an, she recounted her struggles when she was still a student.

“Noon na nagaaral ako, grabe ang sakripisyo namin makapunta lang sa paaralan dahil hanggang tuhod yung putik sa daanan (When I was a student, I have struggled a lot when going to school because of the knee-high mud covering the trail),” Lique shared.

With the community’s drive to solve this problem, the project was funded by the Department of Social Welfare and Development Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services through the Municipal Inter-Barangay Forum – Participatory Resource Allocation (MIBF-PRA).

The MIBF-PRA is an activity in the DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS’ Community Empowerment Activity Cycle (CEAC) wherein projects are funded based on the criteria set by the communities.

THE KEY TO OPENING THE DOOR

According to Escorel, they have struggled on achieving the requirements of the program particularly the 80% participation rate for the attendance to barangay assemblies because of the difficulty of encouraging the community members to attend the gathering.

The volunteer compared her struggles on community participation to that of a closed door.

“Sobrang hirap mangatok ng pinto upang ipaliwanag sa kanila ang kahalagahan ng proyekto hangga’t hindi nila nakikita ang resulta hindi ka nila pagbubuksan (It’s really tough to knock on someone’s door to explain the importance of the project because they won’t open unless they see the results first),” she recalled.

Escorel and her fellow volunteers did their best to ensure that the pathway project materialized from the planning stage until its turnover to the community.

There came a point when they would help in carrying gravel to the site for lack of construction workers.

“Kailangan ipakita mo sa kanila na hindi ka lang basta nagsasalita. (You have to show them that you are not just good at words but more in action),” the volunteer added.

But like any other projects, the community has also dealt with problems. One of the issues encountered was the hurdle on the delivery of materials needed for the construction due to unworkable weather conditions that affected the access going to the barangay.

To solve this, the volunteers maintained constant communication with the supplier as well as lobbied to the local government unit (LGU) to provide boulder fills to be dumped on the trail so that the truck can deliver the construction materials to the barangay.

Escorel explained to the people that there are processes to follow to be able to receive assistance from the government.

“Kung gusto talaga natin na magkaroon ng pagbabago at magandang kinabukasan para sa susunod na henerasyon, kailangan na magkaisa tayo (If we really want change and a bright future for the next generation, we need to unite),” Escorel advised. /ramsertan/

About DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS

Masbate implemented DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS in 20 municipalities with a total implementation grant of Php318,763,838.75 and local counterpart contribution of Php 22,956,632.29 from barangay and municipal local government units (LGUs) to fund community-managed sub-projects.

DSWD allocated San Jacinto with Php 44,758,400.00 and local counterpart contribution of Php 2,627,049.00.

Barangay Jagna-an has two (2) completed community projects from different modalities that benefitted 112 households.

Below is the list of the sub-projects according to its fund source:

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

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

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(Left to Right): Caroline C. Manguiat-Ubalde, LIKAS Inc. Executive Director, Regional Director, Arnel B. Garcia, CESO II and Asst. Regional Director for Operations Arwin O. Razo.

Legazpi City-The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) and Lingap para sa Kalusugan ng Sambayanan (LIKAS), Inc., signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Monday, 10 February 2020 at DSWD Field Office V, PBN Buraguis, Legazpi City.

DSWD Regional Director, Arnel B. Garcia, CESO II, Asst. Regional Director for Operations, Arwin O. Razo, and LIKAS Executive Director Caroline C. Manguiat-Ubalde signed the MOA detailing the partnership coverage. Division Chief Marissa M. Paeste and Regional Program Coordinator Earl Maximillan A. Cecilio witnessed the MOA signing.

DSWD-SLP and LIKAS Inc., will work together to capacitate and empower SLP Participants for a long-term livelihood opportunity using a sustainable livelihood framework.

RD Garcia expressed his gratitude to LIKAS Inc. for the partnership that will surely bring more opportunities and changes in the lives of the program participants.

Caroline C. Manguiat-Ubalde, LIKAS Inc. Executive Director likewise thanked DSWD-SLP for trusting them to provide the technical assistance needed in the implementation of sustainable projects to its participants.

Further, both parties will ensure that programs and services are easily accessible to participants in order to augment the income of SLP Associations’ Enterprises and to promote their products’ marketability and market value through DSWD Sustainable Livelihood Program and the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program which will engage and coordinate with concerned stakeholders at the field level in the implementation of this partnership, provide continuous technical assistance and capacity building to the participants.

True to its mandate, SLP is a community-based capacity building program that aims to improve the socio-economic condition of the participants. It facilitates interventions that expand the livelihood assets (human, social, physical, natural, and financial capital) so they may either have gainful employment or successfully managed microenterprise. #PRNPOJ02102020

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An enumerator asks for the birth certificate of the family members to ensure its correctness on the spelling of names, date of birth, etc.

Legazpi City—The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Bicol through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction or Listahanan resumes its household enumeration this week to update the agency’s poverty database.

As of December 31, 2019, the agency had assessed 842,992 households or 74% of the 1,143,846 target households to be assessed. The remaining number of households still to be interviewed is targeted to be completed this March.

It can be recalled that DSWD started the house to house interview last October 2019. The conduct of household assessment every four years for database updating is stipulated under Executive Order 867 series of 2010.

The validation activity will be conducted after the assessment scheduled from May-July 2020. It is in this phase where the initial list of poor households will be generated and will be posted in conspicuous places at the barangays for the community to validate. Households who were not visited during the regular assessment will be given a chance to appeal and be assessed.

Meanwhile, Director Garcia explains that Listahanan does not determine additional beneficiaries nor delist households under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the DSWD’s poverty alleviation program which provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor, to improve the health, nutrition, and the education of children aged 0-18.

“Listahanan is an information management system that identifies who and where the poor are. It serves as the repository of data of poor households which serves as a reference in identifying potential beneficiaries of social protection programs such as the 4Ps, Philhealth, among others”, explained Garcia.

The Listahanan 3 final list of poor households is expected to be released by August 2020.

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DSWD Listahanan enumerator conducts interview inside the respondent’s house to get the first-hand information on the housing characteristics and verify socio-economic provided such as household assets.

Legazpi City – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) or Listahanan has reached 63% or 722,018 out of the 1,143,846 target households for assessment in the region.

According to DSWD Regional Director Arnel Garcia, the data collection phase targets to finish in the first quarter next year.

“With the Listahanan 3rd assessment, DSWD will have an updated list of poor families which will serve as a tool in determining potential beneficiaries of government and private organizations”, said Director Garcia.

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 a basis in the identification of social protection beneficiaries.

In 2015, the DSWD has identified 372,451 poor households out of the 1,082,582 households assessed in the region. These households have since beneficiaries of government programs such as Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT), a cash aid given to the poorest of the poor in effect from the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law and Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), a financial aid to poor students to support their school finances.

How does DSWD Listahanan identify the poor?

After the house-to-house interviews, the information gathered by the enumerators will be encoded for proxy means test (PMT) processing. PMT is a statistical model that approximates family income based on the observable and verifiable indicators of the household such as housing structure, access to basic services and facilities, and ownership of household assets, among others.The approximated income of a household is compared with the official provincial poverty thresholds to determine their poverty status. Households with income below the poverty threshold are then classified as poor.

After the PMT processing, an initial list of poor will be generated. These will be posted in conspicuous places at the barangay for the community to validate. Families, who were not visited during the regular enumeration, are given a chance to appeal and be assessed. A Barangay Verification Team (BVT) and Local Verification Committee (LVC) will be formed in each barangays/municipalities to act on complaints and grievances.

After the validation, the official and final list of poor households is shared with data users to serve as their basis in selecting beneficiaries of social protection programs.
Under Executive Order 867, all national government agencies (NGAs) are mandated to use the Listahanan data for their programs and services to the poor. Likewise, the DSWD should update the data every four years. ###crb

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Unloading of 700 family food packs in Castilla,Sorsogon intended for the Food-for-Work program to the affected families of TY Tisoy.

Legazpi  City-  The Department of Social Welfare and Development Bicol is continuously providing augmentation support to the affected families and individuals of the different local government units (LGUs)   in the region.  The agency has provided 9,320 family food packs amounting to Php P3,634,800.00 to the affected families in the municipalities of Irosin, Castilla, Barcelona, Gubat, Prieto Diaz, Sorsogon City in Sorsogon province and Vinzons in Camarines Norte for the Food-for-Work (FFW) program.

The FFW is an intervention implemented during the early recovery stage after a disaster that provides food to individuals in exchange for rendering community work such as declogging of canals, maintaining the cleanliness of evacuation centers and removing debris on roads and highways, among others.

Based on the December 6 DSWD Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and  Information  (DROMIC)  report,  a total of 181,501 families or 763,674 individuals in the 1,248 barangays in the Bicol region were affected.

The agency has 21,055 family food packs and non-food items such as tents, hygiene/family/dignity/kitchen kits, malongs, laminated sacks, and blankets ready at the DSWD Warehouse. It has also an ongoing repacking of 11,000 family food packs.

Likewise, the DSWD FO V has a standby fund of P3,000,000.00 which can be utilized in the purchase of relief goods for response operation.

Meanwhile,  DSWD  Secretary  Rolando Bautista visited Bicol yesterday to oversee ongoing relief efforts for families affected by TY Tisoy. He together with Regional  Director  Arnel Garcia attended the  Joint Regional and National Disaster  Coordinating Council meeting in  Legazpi  City  Convention  Center which was presided by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Secretary Bautista assured the availability of relief goods for the affected families. He further said that the agency will fast track the validation of families with totally and partially damaged houses to be provided with financial assistance under the Aid to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program.

Under the Local Government Code, the local government units (LGUs) are the first responders after a disaster.  They too are responsible for disaster preparedness and mitigation.

Further, the national government agencies like DSWD augments the needed resources of the LGUs to the affected families and individuals.###crb

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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/

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