YEARENDER: 2013 a busy, exciting year for DSWD

MANILA, Philippines - Despite the disasters and armed conflicts that hit the country last year, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said 2013 was an “exhilarating year” for her agency.

Even if the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) was still busy with relief efforts in the aftermath of Typhoon Pablo that hit Mindanao in December 2012, the agency already had to help more than 15,000 Filipinos displaced by the Sabah standoff in the first quarter of 2013.

The armed conflict erupted after more than 200 followers of the Sulu sultanate led by Agbimuddin Kiram, younger brother of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, landed in Lahad Datu to pursue their claim over Sabah in February 2013.

After the standoff, the DSWD had to lead relief efforts for thousands of families in Luzon affected by heavy monsoon rains and strong typhoons that caused massive flooding and destroyed homes in August.

In September, the standoff between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and government troops erupted in Zamboanga weeks after the Philippine government struck a wealth sharing deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) for a lasting peace in Muslim Mindanao. The DSWD again had to lead relief efforts for the thousands of families left homeless by the fighting.

When October came, the Visayas was struck by a strong earthquake, leaving thousands homeless and destroying centuries-old churches.

Barely a month after that, on Nov. 8, 2013, Visayas was again ravaged, this time by Super Typhoon Yolanda, bringing storm surges as high as seven meters that killed over 6,000 people and destroyed billions worth of properties and infrastructure.

Again, the DSWD was in the forefront of relief operations and rehabilitation efforts in the aftermath of the monster storm.

Soliman noted that while the DSWD was made to work very hard in disaster relief operations, the agency had shown itself ready for the challenge whether caused by Mother Nature or by men.

“DSWD was stretched, pulled to respond in many areas and in different type of calamities to augment and support the local government units of the affected areas,” Soliman said.

“DSWD responded and provided the service with energy in the tradition of matapat, mahusay at magiliw na paglilingkod sa sambayanan (honest, efficient and enthusiastic public service),” she added.

CCT program and Kalahi-CIDSS

Soliman’s positive outlook on 2013 is also anchored on the gains posted by the DSWD in its flagship poverty alleviation programs: the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or conditional cash transfer (CCT), and the Kapitbisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) project.

The calls for the expansion of the CCT are a testament to the program’s success.

Earlier, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies said the CCT should be expanded to cover children aged 18, so they can be pushed to finish high school.

About 2.2 million children are expected to benefit from the expansion.

“We reached the target of 3.9 million families for Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program and we got approval to extend the coverage to 18 year old for 2014 to ensure that the children finish high school,” Soliman said.

To date, the CCT covers eight million children aged three to 14, including 6.3 million children in the elementary and pre-school levels and 1.7 million in high school. A family-beneficiary gets P300 per child who goes to school and posts a minimum attendance rate of 85 percent.

If the coverage is expanded to 14- to 18-year-olds, the CCT coverage will hit 10.2 million in 1,627 cities and municipalities all over the country. Each child would get an additional P500.

The DSWD gained recognition for the CCT program last October from the MY World Outreach Award for Asia Pacific and Oceania.

MY World, a global survey conducted by the United Nations, asks respondents to choose their priorities for a better world. The results will be shared with world leaders in setting the next global development agenda.

The Kalahi-CIDSS, on the other hand, is getting more funding assistance from the international community, with Spanish and Japanese institutions giving overseas development assistance to implement the program in other struggling provinces.

The DSWD also bagged an international award for the Kalahi-CIDSS program. It was chosen as one of the awardees of the US Treasury in its second annual Development Impact Honors Awards, beating over 40 other candidates last July.

Kalahi-CIDSS was chosen as one as the awardees due to its being “especially high-impact and noteworthy,” according to US Secretary of Treasury Jacob Lew in his letter to World Bank president Jim Kim.

The World Bank has been a partner of Kalahi-CIDSS since its inception in 2003.