Marcos commits to serve the poor

PRESIDENT MARCOS reaffirmed his commitment to make government services accessible to all as he instructed the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and all state agencies to ensure that all social services are within reach. 

Marcos has appointed Valenzuela Representative Rex Gatchalian as the new DSWD.

“As we look to the future, I enjoin the DSWD once again and all government agencies to ensure that your services reach those in need, wherever they may be. People should not need to travel to urban areas to access government services. That is why we must ensure that everyone everywhere will have access to all the help and services that they need,” he said.

He likewise called on the DSWD to continue to implement the Unconditional Cash Transfer Program to provide cash grants to poor households and individuals who do not benefit from the lower income tax rates but who are adversely affected by rising prices.

The President also urged the DSWD to enhance the Social Pension Program for Senior Citizens as a means to augment their daily subsistence and medical needs.

Marcos enjoined the DSWD to continue calibrating the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and strengthening the government’s social protection initiatives, “especially since one of the measures we undertake to address poverty is through the grants that we provide for the health needs of every household and education of our children.”

Last year, the DSWD said some 1.3 million 4Ps beneficiaries were no longer considered poor as a qualification for the government program and delisted them, saving the government some P15 billion which can be used for other qualified persons to replace them.

The 4Ps is a human development measure of the national government that provides conditional cash grants to the poorest of the poor, to improve the health, nutrition, and the education of children aged 0-18.

It is patterned after the conditional cash transfer schemes in Latin American and African countries, which have lifted millions of people around the world from poverty.

The DSWD is the lead government agency of the 4Ps which also helps the Philippine government fulfill its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals - specifically in eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, in achieving universal primary education, in promoting gender equality, in reducing child mortality, and in improving maternal health care.

The 4Ps operates in all the 17 regions in the Philippines, covering 79 provinces, 143 cities, and 1,484 municipalities. Beneficiaries are selected through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction, which identifies who and where the poor are in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)