One of the provision of Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code states that the local social welfare and development offices, its assets and liabilities including services and the corresponding manpower complement were already devolved to the provinces, cities and municipalities.

With the devolution, the social welfare and developments and its social workers and personnel assigned there are already under the direct supervision of the provincial governor, city and municipal mayor.

DSWD Regional Director Arnel Garcia said that there is a need to clarify the issues on the devolution that the Provincial/City/Municipal Social Welfare and Development Offices is still mistakenly referred as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

“We would like to call our friends from the media and other partners to help us clarify that local social welfare and development offices in the provinces, cities and municipalities are no longer under the supervision of the DSWD. They now belong to the LGU and are directly under the supervision and responsibility of the Local Chief Executives.”

Garcia also said that part of the DSWD’s continuing efforts at providing responsive and focused programs and services, three strategic goals were formulated to guide the department namely:

Strategic goal 1 – Raise the status of 2.3 million Pantawid Pamilya families to self-sufficiency by 2016

Strategic goal 2 – Increase the number of the NHTS-PR identified poor families covered by at least 2 social welfare and development programs from 3.9 million to 5.2 by 2016.
Strategic goal 3 – Increase the no. of provinces with majority of the municipalities/cities having a fully functioning Local Social Welfare and Development Office to 40 by 2016.

Guided by these vision-focused goals, the department intensified efforts of converging programs and services in providing a comprehensive response to the vulnerable sector of the society. # # #eejerusalem