Various government agencies join the official kickoff event of the Adoption Consciousness Week Celebration at Puro, Legazpi City.

Legazpi City-The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office V has officially commenced with its annual celebration of the Adoption Consciousness Week yesterday at Puro, Legazpi City.

The theme of this year’s celebration is “Pagmamahal palaganapin, legal na pag-aampon ating gawin (Spread unconditional love through legal adoption)”.

Different government agencies were present yesterday who joined the foot parade and Zumba as part of the opening program. Local officials from National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM), Philippine Information Agency (PIA), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Educo, National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Civil Service Commission (CSC), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Commission on Population (POPCOM) were present.

“We would like to inform the public that DSWD will guide you with the legal adoption process. Consultation with us is free of service,” DSWD Regional Director Arnel Garcia said.

As part of the weeklong celebration, the DSWD will put up inquiry desks at SM Legazpi and SM Naga on February 14-15, 2019, 10:00AM-5:30 PM to respond to queries about adoption and foster care.

Also, a poster contest is scheduled at DSWD Field Office V, Legazpi City on February 19, 2019.

The Adoption Consciousness Week Celebration will culminate on February 21, 2019, 1:00-5:00 PM with a forum about foster care and legal adoption at PNP Regional Office V, Camp Simeon Ola, Legazpi City. Admission is free and snacks will be served to first 50 guests. Interested individuals or parties may contact 09171426963 to confirm attendance or send queries about the said forum.

Moreover, DSWD Field Office V has its own adoption text lines: 09475854675 or 09171426963.

Any interested individuals may seek DSWD’s free services. For those who want to adopt, they can visit DSWD Region V ARRS located at Buraguis, Legazpi City or may call (052) 8201309. However, applicants are advised that they need to spend a considerable amount on legal services and documentary requirements in line with the adoption and foster care process.

Adoption as an alternative parental care program is one of the statutory programs of the DSWD for abandoned and neglected children as guided by Republic Act (R.A.) No. 8552 known as the Domestic Adoption Act of 1998 and R.A. No.9523, also known as an Act Authorizing the Secretary of DSWD to issue a Certification Declaring a Child Legally Available for Adoption (CDCLAA).

Adoption is a socio-legal process of providing a permanent family to a child who is legally available for adoption while foster care refers to the provision of planned temporary substitute parental care to a child by a foster parent.

A Foster Parent/Family is issued a license by the DSWD after a favorable assessment and recommendation. A Foster Placement Authority is also issued by the Department to authorize the placement of a child/children to a licensed foster parent/family.
In 2018, DSWD Field Office V was able to place 11 children for adoption, 25 children for foster care and 13 children were endorsed for inter-country adoption.

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Residents of Barangay Canlong won’t have to walk on the muddy trail as they tread along their concrete pathway in Garchitorena, Camarines Sur.

Traveling comfortably is always a luxury especially to communities located in far-flung areas. But, nothing can halt them on reaching the main district to acquire their needed supplies and services. One of those communities is Barangay Canlong in Garchitorena, Camarines Sur.

From Naga City, people must travel five (5) hours on a bus going to the municipality of Garchitorena. Upon reaching the town, they must ride a small motorboat for 30 minutes crossing the river surrounded with mangrove trees. From the makeshift port, they need to tread an uphill trail for an hour withstanding the distress walking on mud.

According to Gemma Clores, 48, barangay treasurer, the main source of livelihood of residents are fishing and agriculture. She also said that the barangay needs basic facilities which are pathway and evacuation center.

“Noon, pagnaglalakad kami kapag maputik aabutin sa isang oras. Sa ngayon, nasa five (5) minutes na lang na habal-habal at 40 minutes kapag papunta sa bayan (Before, we must walk for one hour on a muddy trail. Now, it only takes 5 minutes of motorcycle ride and 40 minutes going to the town),” Clores shared.

Through the Department of Social Welfare and Development Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS), the community has constructed a two (2) kilometer concrete pathway.

Kalahi-CIDSS is a poverty alleviation program implemented by DSWD which strengthens community participation in local planning, budgeting and project implementation.

Clores explained the difficulty to be part of the prioritized projects of the program due to the needed documents required.

“Ang pinakaproblema namin na makakuha ng dokumento ay yung right of way para ma-prioritized kami ng Kalahi-CIDSS (Our problem is to acquire a document on the right of way to be part of Kalahi-CIDSS prioritized projects),” she added.

She also said that they have to get the barangay map and lot number with its corresponding owners to be used as basis for the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to release the certification.

“Sa pagtarabangan kang mga volunteers, napakarhay mi ang project proposal at iba pang dokumentos na requirements kang Kalahi-CIDSS para ma-prioritized kami (With the help of the volunteers, we were able to create a project proposal and acquire the needed documents for the prioritization of Kalahi-CIDSS),” she recounted.

The Municipal Inter-Barangay Forum – Participatory Resource Allocation (MIBF-PRA) is an activity that identifies projects to be funded by DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS using the criteria approved by barangays and community members during the MIBF Criteria Setting Workshop.

ROAD TRIP TO NEW BEGINNINGS

The residents of Barangay Canlong saw a big difference especially when they had a pathway. Before, they find it problematic to reach the municipality in times of emergencies.

There is one instance that a child died with pneumonia because of the lack of medical care which is only available at the town.

Clores also described the difficulty in informing people about the importance of the project and how each of them should help in the implementation.

“Sa umpisa, talaga masakit paintindihon pero sa kahaluyan nasabutan man ninda dahil sa mga trainings na tinao kang Kalahi-CIDSS (At the start, it was tough to make people understand but through the training of the program, they already appreciate the essence of the project),” she stated.

Due to their community project, some people bought motorcycles as a form of transportation and an additional source of income.

“Nakikita ko na lahat na problema namin noon ay ngayon, napagaan. Yung mga produkto na dapat namin dalhin sa bayan ay napapadala namin ng mabilis (Now, I see that our problems before were solved. Even our products that need to be transported to the town were delivered swiftly), she added.

For Cristy Iglesia, 39, Barangay Sub-Project Management Committee (BSPMC) chairperson, they have produced good results through volunteering and collective action of the community.

“Gusto ko po maitao sa sakuyang ka-barangay ay ang padagos na pagserbi po sa sainda, padagos pakikipagtabangan sa sainda para sa karahayan sa samong barangay (I want to continue serving and helping the community for the development of our barangay),” she explained.

“Dakula man ang sakong pasasalamat sa kapwa volunteer na nagsuporta sa samuyang proyekto (I am also thankful to my fellow volunteers who showed support for our project),” Iglesia continued.

Despite being mired down, the unwavering support for the community has turned a thousand steps of anguish into a 5-minute extraordinary excursion of collective action.

About DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS

Camarines Sur has implemented Kalahi-CIDSS in 35 municipalities with a total implementation grant of PhP 1,950,716,688.10 and local counterpart contribution of PhP 75,273,846.32 from barangay and municipal local government units (LGUs) to fund community-managed sub-projects.

DSWD had allocated Garchitorena with PhP 50,978,599.46 with a counterpart from the LGU of Php 4,597,199.14.

The construction of the pathway has a total project cost of PhP 3, 627,006.23 which benefitted 156 households.

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

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

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Legazpi City- The Department of Social Welfare and Development(DSWD) Field Office V-Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) conducted a livelihood assessment to the families affected by Tropical Depression (TD) Usman in Tiwi Albay last January 16, 2019.

The Sustainable Livelihood Program(SLP) Albay Provincial Operation Office (POO) led the series of activities in response to the needs of the households in the evacuation center.

The livelihood assessment aims to provide augmentation, technical assistance and intervention along livelihood to the affected households in the different barangays devastated by TD Usman.

Based on the assessment conducted, there are 83 households from Barangay Maynonong and 6 Households from Barangay Naga that were identified engaging in weaving (handicraft). Out of the 89 identified households, there were 57 households with existing handloom to be transferred in the evacuation center.

The transfer of the handloom will be facilitated by the Local Government Unit (LGU) to a designated area allocated inside the school premises of Naga National High School.  Further, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) had committed to provide abaca fiber to the households in the evacuation centers as starter kits.

SLP also conducted an orientation on urban and bio-intensive gardening with the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) that provided 12 packs of okra, 22 packs of pechay and 22 packs of swamp cabbage. Moreover, the garden of the 13 evacuation rooms had started last January 11, 2019 placed in their designated areas identified by the School Principal.

Through the collaborative efforts and coordination of DSWD and different agencies, the identified program participants will be provided a capital through DSWD’s Seed Capital Fund (SCF) under SLP.

SCF is a capacity-building grant given to an eligible SLP participant belonging to an SLP Association. The grant is intended to support the establishment of a community-based credit and savings facility and to provide start-up or additional financial capital for participants who wish to engage in other income-generating projects. The qualified program participants will be given a minimum of Php 20,000 pesos depending on the assessment done.

To gain additional income, program participants continue their livelihood inside evacuation center.

Analyn Pontalba, 36, from Maynonong, Tiwi Albay chose to continue her livelihood inside evacuation center to augment and support her family needs. According to her, it is also her way of forgetting the tragic incident in her life brought by TD Usman.

Furthermore, the province of Camarines Sur will also conduct a massive livelihood assessment in areas affected by TD Usman.

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 asset base of the participants (human, social, physical, natural, and financial capital) so they may either have gainful employment or successfully manage a microenterprise. #PRNPOJ01/25/2019

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The Department of Social Welfare and Development Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS) launched the fourth cycle implementation in the municipalities of Talisay in Camarines Norte, Uson, Mandaon and San Jacinto in Masbate.

The program conducted the Municipal Orientation in Talisay, Uson, Mandaon and San Jacinto last January 25, 28, 29 and 31 respectively.

This orientation is part of the Social Preparation and Community Consultation Stage of the Community Empowerment Activity Cycle (CEAC).

It formalizes the engagement of the program through a signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). The activity also discusses the technical and administrative requirements of the implementation.

“The orientation is very momentous because it creates awareness and acceptance on the program,” Regional Director Arnel Garcia said.

As part of the program’s objective to improve the local governance, the Local Government Units (LGUs) will take over the Cycle 4 implementation who will manage the conduct of CEAC and facilitation of community empowerment.

“The LGU-led program implementation will serve as an indicator that the Community-Driven Development (CDD) approach improves people’s engagement through a democratic and participatory process,” he added.

The orientation will also be conducted in Magarao, Camarines Sur on February 12, 2019. /PRrams/

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Riprap sub-project of Brgy. Ibayugan, Buhi, Camarines Sur

The Department of Social Welfare and Development Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS) validated the extent of damages of sub-projects brought by Tropical Depression ‘Usman’ in Bicol Region.

Based on the data collected as of January 21, 2019, there are six (6) partially damaged sub-projects out of 51 funded sub-projects in Buhi and four (4) partially damaged sub-projects out of 37 funded sub-projects in Sagñay.

There are also three (3) partially damaged sub-projects out of 45 funded sub-projects recorded in Bula and one (1) partially damaged sub-project out of 38 funded sub-projects in Ocampo, Camarines Sur.

The damaged sub-projects will be endorsed to the Local Government Units and other National Government Agencies (NGAs) depending on the results identified during the assessment.

BENEFITED FROM THE SUB-PROJECTS

Despite damages incurred in community projects, the communities also benefited from their implemented projects during TD Usman particularly in Barangay Ibayugan in Buhi, Camarines Sur.

Their riprap sub-project with a project cost of Php 4,344,522.00 has protected at least 170 families from massive boulders and flood waters. It also prevented damages to their properties and livelihood.

According to Jade Albert Muni of Municipal Coordinating Team (MCT), the residents would have suffered from flooding and enormous boulders without the slope protection.

“Sa sobrang lakas ng mga gumugulong na mga bato, nadurog yung ibang parte ng riprap, pero pasalamat yung mga tao kasi kung wala po iyon, baha agad sila (Because of strong pressure from the rolling boulders, some parts of the riprap were destroyed. The residents are also grateful because, without their project, they would have experienced flooding,” Muni added.

Through Community-Driven Development (CDD) approach, the community was able to distinguish their problems and possible solutions by undertaking community-level research also known as Participatory Situational Analysis (PSA).

“Since the communities were given the opportunity to make informed decisions to address the needs identified by themselves, they were able to implement sub-projects based on the context of their localities,” Regional Director Arnel Garcia explained.

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Life is like a candle. Darkness enfolded a child when life hit him hard and lost any sight of the light at a young age.

Jose, not his real name, was a victim of inhospitable circumstances. His parents lived separately with his mother who shouldered the sole parental responsibility over four children in the family while his father sent them money to support them financially.

Moreover, he was confronted with a life changing event after his father’s death in 2009. His mother pulled the ends together by exploring alternative livelihood activities for their daily sustenance including the payment for their school expenses.

According to Jose, from being a household manager, his mom attended trainings in cosmetics and caregiving, hence, she worked as part-time on call beautician and caregiver thereafter.

In the absence of his mother, Jose’s eldest sibling replaced his mother. But according to him, it was not enough.

He admitted that they had more time to engage with their peers due to limited adult’s supervision.

Jose discovered the life without boundaries. A life where he can decide on his own without his parents’ reprimand.

Soon, Jose engaged with friends who introduced him to different vices.

“I cut classes. I learned how to smoke and drink alcohol while my older brother got into illegal drugs,” he said.

Jose became unstoppable. In 2015, Jose who was in third year high school decided to steal a motorcycle parked in his school because he wanted to have his own service; something that his mom cannot afford.

However, his world crumbled down when he was apprehended the same year. He violated the Anti-Fencing Law and was admitted at DSWD’s Regional Rehabilitation for Youth (RRCY) in Sorsogon City for his suspended sentence and directed him to undergo rehabilitation instead of full blown court trial.

After his three-year stay at RRCY, he was discharged out of the facility and was integrated to his family.

At RRCY, a residential institution that provides protection, care, treatment and rehabilitation to abused and exploited boys below 18 years of age, Jose received the following from DSWD: social services, home life services, educational services, health services, psychological services, spiritual enrichment services, productivity program and socio-cultural and recreational services.

After all those years, the most valuable lesson he learned is that life is important.

Jose described life like a candle. Its light may end in an instant if not taken care of.

But the people who gave them the opportunity to live a reformed life kept the light burning and its continuing illumination serves a source of inspiration to those who were lost in the darkness.

According to U.S. President John F. Kennedy: “We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future”.

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DSWD Field Office V Regional Director Arnel B. Garcia encouraged employees to donate blood last January 21,2019 as part of the 68th DSWD Anniversary Celebration.

Legazpi City— DSWD Field Office V conducted a bloodletting activity last January 21, 2019 in connection with the DSWD 68th Anniversary Celebration.

The founding anniversary is observed every January. For the 68th anniversary, a bloodletting activity was facilitated by DSWD FO V Human Resource Welfare Section in collaboration with Philippine National Red Cross- Albay Chapter and Department of Health Regional Office V. This was simultaneously done by other Regional Offices all over the country.

22 eligible DSWD employees participated in the activity who were assessed during the registration process.

Regional Director Arnel B. Garcia encouraged the employees to join this advocacy to help save lives through blood donation.

“It is a rewarding experience for us because we can extend the life of others,” Dir. Garcia added.

Doctor Alan Lucañas, the team leader of the bloodletting activity, acknowledged this initiative and expressed interest to accept similar engagements with DSWD to augment the scarce blood supply.

All the DSWD blood donors received snacks and freebies from DOH and were excused at work to take a break after.

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The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Office Field Office V has temporarily suspended the conditions of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to help the affected families of Tropical Depression (TD) Usman.

According to Regional Director Arnel B. Garcia, in the event of calamity, it is DSWD’s recourse to suspend the conditions of the Program. He said the suspension of the conditions of 4Ps allows the beneficiaries to receive their cash grants in full (100%) from the months of December 2017 until January 2018.

“Even if they (beneficiaries) are unable to comply with all the conditions of the program on the said months, they will still receive their cash grants without deductions (100%) as a way to aid the families from the onslaught of TD Usman,” Dir. Garcia added.

DSWD 4Ps reported, a total of 226,428 affected household beneficiaries in  the whole Region, with four provinces declared for suspension of 4Ps conditions.

These Provinces are Albay with 73,570 affected households; Camarines Norte with 31,361 affected households, Camarines Sur with 106,192 affected households and four Municipalities in Sorsogon which are Bulan, Bulusan, Matnog and Magallanes with a total 15,305 affected households.

Pantawid Pamilya

The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is a human development measure of national government providing conditional cash grants to poor families to improve the health, nutrition and education of children aged 0-18.

Under the program, a beneficiary family receives cash assistance under health grant of P500 (total of P6,000/year); an education grant of P300 per child per month in elementary or P500 per child per month in High School (total of P3,000.00 in Elementary or P5,000.00 in High School per child per year).

For every household a maximum of three children are allowed to benefit from the Program.

Aside from the monetary assistance, the family also receives P600 worth of rice subsidy per month.

In order to receive the cash grants, the conditions set by the program are: availing pre and post-natal care for pregnant women, parents must attend Family Development Session, children aged 0-5 must receive regular preventive health check-ups and vaccines, children aged 6-14 must receive deworming pills twice a year and children aged 3-18 should have 85% attendance in school.

At present, a total of 363,870 households benefitted from the Program.

Also, DSWD has so far provided a total of P29.241M worth of assistance such as family food packs, malong, blankets, tents, family kits, kitchen, dignity, sleeping, hygiene kits to families housed in evacuations centers or individuals affected by flood, landslides brought by TD Usman.***GLindio-IO-4Ps

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