MAKATI City- Pinangunahan ng Listahanan ng Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) MIMAROPA ang isang dayalogo na dinaluhan ng ibat ibang representante ng mga  lokal na pamahalaan mula sa mga probinsya ng Mindoro, Marinduque at Romblon ngayong araw dito sa nasabing lungsod.

Layunin ng nasabing dayalogo na hikayatin ang mga kalahok upang pumasok sa isang kasundaan sa pagitan ng DSWD  at ng lokal na pamahalaan para maging kaisa sa pagsugpo ng kahirapan partikular na sa MIMAROPA.

Kabilang sa mga dumalo ang ilang mayor, local social welfare and development officers at local planning and development coordinators.

Ayon kay DSWD Regional Director Wilma D. Naviamos,  gamit ang Listahanan database mas mapapabilis ang pagkilala at pagtukoy sa mga benepisyaryo ng iba’t ibang programang panlipunan ng nasyonal at lokal na pamahalaan

Nakatakda naman ang susunod na dayalogo para sa probinsya ng Palawan sa ikalawang linggo sa susunod na buwan na gaganapin sa lungsod ng Puerto Princesa.

Ang Listahanan ay isang pamamaraan ng pamahalaan para tukuyin at kilalanin kung sinu-sino at nasaan ang mga mahihirap sa bansa. Ayon sa pinakahuling datos nito, umabot sa 207,863 o 36.5 percent ng mga sambahayan sa buong rehiyon ang natukoy na mahihirap.###

PWD members and supporters in Occidental Mindoro parade to advocate their sectoral rights.

MALATE, Manila- In observance of the 39th National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation (NDPR) week, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) MIMAROPA reveals that 14,453 poor individuals regionwide have disability based on Listahanan database.

This year’s celebration embraces the theme, “Karapatan at Pribilehiyo ng Maykapansanan: Isakatuparan at Ipaglaban”, which emphasizes the fundamental rights of persons with disabilities (PWD) to be fully realized.

Listahanan, a government mechanism to determine who and where the poor are, shows that 3,192 poor PWDs are identified in Occidental Mindoro; 3,272 in Oriental Mindoro; 1,073 in Marinduque; 1,559 in Romblon and 5,357 in Palawan.

“Commemorating this annual celebration, the DSWD will be having advocacy activities to fuel public awareness on the issues and problems face by the PWD sector,” said DSWD Regional Director Wilma Naviamos.

From the identified poor PWDs, 7,995 (55.3%) are male and 6,458 (44.7%) female.

It is also reported that the top five towns with the highest poor individuals with disability are Puerto Princesa, Palawan with 1,076; Sablayan with 905 and San Jose with 826 in Occidental Mindoro; Taytay with 575 and Quezon with 371 in Palawan.

DSWD also encourages every citizen to take active responsibility in uplifting the economic and social conditions of all persons with disabilities in the society.

The NDPR week will be celebrated in Odiongan, Romblon on July 19-20, 2017 which will be attended by various national and local government units, and other social protection stakeholders promoting the welfare of PWD sector. ###

Students of Marinduque State College join the Listahanan roadshow.

BOAC, Marinduque- Spearheaded by Listahanan, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) MIMAROPA conducted a provincial roadshow of the regional profile of the poor in this town.

Based on the 2015 household assessment, a total of 207,863 (36.5%) poor households are identified out of 569,316 total households assessed in Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan provinces.

“The activity aims to advocate the results of the Listahanan assessment eventually increase the awareness of the general public about the statistics and profile of the poor households regionwide,” told Regional Director Wilma Naviamos.

For the province of Marinduque, DSWD identified 13,177 households or 26.3% are poor from the 38,902 total households enumerated.

Among the six towns in Marinduque, Buenavista tops with the highest magnitude of poor identified with 2,100 (39.6%) households followed by Torrijos with 1,901 (33.2) households while Gasan town with 2,158 (27.9%) poor households.

Boac with 3,018 (26.6%) poor households; Mogpog with 1,670 (21.1%) households; and Sta. Cruz 2,330 (19.3%) poor households.

DSWD Listahanan is very grateful to Marinduque Provincial Government thru Governor Carmencita Reyes and Marinduque State College president Merian C. Mani for hosting the provincial roadshow, Naviamos added.

In the said event, quick statistics about the profile of the poor, regional and provincial poverty maps and department audio-visual productions about frontline services are showcased for public information.

Listahanan is a government mechanism that identifies who and where the poor are nationwide. ###

DSWD MIMAROPA conducts validation of 100-year-old senior citizens who will qualify the centenarian gift.

MALATE, Manila- Thirty-six centenarians in MIMAROPA region already received Php100, 000.00 each from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) since April 2017.

DSWD record shows that four centenarians have received in Occidental Mindoro; 14 in Oriental Mindoro; six in Marinduque; three in Romblon; and nine in Palawan.

Under Republic Act 10868 or the Centenarians Acts of 2016, all Filipinos who live to 100 years, otherwise known as a centenarian, will receive a Letter of Felicitation from the President and a centenarian gift of P100,000 whether living in the Philippines or not.

To date, the Department has released a total of Php3.6 million.

“We are still in the validation process for another  31 centenarians regionwide to qualify for the said cash gift,” said Maricel dela Vega, senior citizen focal person.

Centenarians will also receive a plaque of recognition and a cash incentive from their respective cities or municipal governments, to be decided by their local government unit.

According to Listahanan– government’s mechanism to identify the poor, there are 22 senior citizens who have turned 100 years old this year, belonging to poor households.###

MALATE, Manila- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) MIMAROPA is in need of 80 youth interns regionwide under the Government Internship Program (GIP).

Twelve youth will be assigned in Oriental Mindoro; 12 in Occidental Mindoro;  eight in Marinduque; 14 in Romblon; 19 in Palawan; and 15 in Malate, Manila.

Interns will serve in the DSWD regional, provincial and municipal offices for 30 days from April 17 to May 29, 2017 and will receive Php 214.00 daily fee or a total of Php6,420.00.

“This is open to single individuals who are 18-25 years old; high school graduates; TESDA or Alternative Learning System certificate holders; members of Pag-asa Youth Association of the Philippines; youth under Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program family; and youth belonging to family identified poor by Listahanan will also be prioritized,” social worker Amandy Nieves said.

Interested youth may submit these requirements: application letter, certificate of indigency, latest school registration; and copy of identification card of applicants and their parents/guardians, to the nearest DSWD or MIMAROPA SWAD offices and/or send through email at amandy_nieves@yahoo.com.

Deadline for submission will be on April 10, 2017.

GIP is one of the components of the Kabataan 2000 program which provides opportunity for both out-of-school and in-school youths a hands-on experience of working in various government agencies. It enables them to learn life skills in the workplace while earning money to help them meet their school needs.###

MALATE, MANILA- The Listahanan of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) MIMAROPA identifies about 568,387 women of all ages or 45% from the total 1,257,631 women assessed, belong to poor households in MIMAROPA region.

Listahanan is a government mechanism that identifies who and where the poor are nationwide.

From the 2015 household assessment, a total of 102,670 poor women were identified in Occidental Mindoro; 145,944 in Oriental Mindoro; 37,983 in Marinduque; 56,632 in Romblon; and 225,158 in Palawan.

The top three towns with the highest number of identified poor women regionwide are San Jose Occidental Mindoro with 37,838; Puerto Princesa in Palawan with 29,843; and Bataraza Palawan with 20,065.

The DSWD database further shows  that barangays with the highest number of poor women are  barangay Bancalaan, Balabac, Palawan  with 4,984; barangay Panaytayan, Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro with 3,847; and barangay  Mangsee, Balabac, Palawan with 3,745.

Meanwhile, about 697 poor women or 3.5% aged 15 and above are women working as professionals. On the other hand, 33,263 (47.5%) of working poor women are laborers and unskilled workers.

The National Women’s Month Celebration  every March is part of the worldwide observance of the International Women’s Day with this year’s theme, “We Make Change Work For Women.” ###

N.B.:  Listahanan Data as of February 2016

SPSI Caravan for Abra de Ilog, Mamburao, Paluan, Sta. Cruz cluster held in Occidental Mindoro Provincial Capitol.

MAMBURAO, OcciMin- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) MIMAROPA , in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and  the provincial and local government units of Occidental Mindoro conducted three clusters of Social Protection Support Initiative (SPSI) caravan in the towns of Mamburao on February 15; San Jose on February 18; and Lubang on February 28, 2017.

SPSI is a convergence project of the  DSWD, DOH, and PhilHealth aims to help Listahanan-identified poor particularly the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries attain an improved level of well-being and their economic status.

The caravan activities  include motorcade, project orientation and participating agencies set-up booths catering  basic services.

A total of 805 Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries, local government officials, local health officers and local social welfare officers provincewide attended the said caravan.

SPSI Sub-projects

 The DSWD’s Sustaining Interventions in Poverty Alleviation and Governance (SIPAG) enhances the case management capacity of local social welfare and development offices through an enhanced social case management system using the information and communication technology. This Electronic Social Case Management System (e-SCMS) features data analysis capabilities, intervention planning and monitoring application, a platform for collaboration and supervision, and built-in referral system to facilitate improved delivery of coordinated social services at the local level.

Also, the DOH implements Watching Over Mothers and babies or WOMB projects that provides access and utilizes the child and nutrition services at the local level. WOMB features data management system to aid community health teams and Rural Health Units in enrolling expectant mothers and neonates.  Likewise it enhances the referral mechanism within the local health service delivery system by improving the linkage of local health units or any Basic Emergency Obstetrics and Neonatal Care facility to the next level care facility.

And the Sigurado at Garantisadong Insurance Pangkalusugan (SAGIP) PhilHealth anchored with the governments Universal Health Care. SAGIP aims to proactively register all Filipinos in the health care system, remind members to regularly pay their premium contribution, refer the delinquent payees to appropriate sponsorship, and measure the performance of attaining universal health insurance coverage overtime.

Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries join the motorcade kicking off the SPSI caravan.

“Through the coordinated implementation of SIPAG, WOMB and SIPAG through the SPSI, the country will now have a better way of ensuring that the poor and vulnerable are provided improved access to basic social protection services and the government’s social service delivery systems are at par with global standards,” said Julieta Flores SIPAG Regional Coordinator.

Prior the caravan, SIPAG also conducted case conferences attended by the partner agencies and local social welfare officers wherein 11 cases of partner-beneficiaries presented and given appropriate interventions.

SPSI project commenced its first year of pilot implementation in the six  municipalities Oriental Mindoro  province of Oriental Mindoro in 2011. To date, SPSI covers the whole Mindoro provinces. ###

DSWD partner beneficiaries attend the inauguration of the business center in 2016.

The usual challenge faced by community organizations is sustainability. “Ningas-kogon” attitude is an innate nature of many Filipinos. Many organizations or even programs and projects left unfinished because the aspect of sustainability is forgotten. Huge government resources were put to waste because of so many factors. It could be the lack of commitment, the lack of passion to push certain endeavor or the lack of long –term vision.

This is the reality that need to be addressed not only by government but by individuals.

But, the sad stories of community undertakings has also a positive part. There are still individuals and even government agencies who believe that something will happen if the leaders and the people are willing to surrender certain things or even time in exchange of something worthwhile and for the interest of many.

One inspiring story of a successful community initiative is the establishment of a business center in the town of Taytay, Palawan. The process towards the full realization of the project started in 2014 when series of community meetings and consultations were made. Community consultation is a fundamental requirement before any community project or undertaking kicks off.

Doing so was not easy for the community workers because there should be a paradigm shift to ensure the success of the proposed project. In this case, they need to open the mind of the beneficiaries that instead of doing operating the business individually, it has to operate and run by the association as one.

With the supervision of  the Department of Social Welfare and Development under its Sustainable Livelihood Program Associations with the support of the local government unit of Taytay and the Taytay Palawan Sustainable Livelihood Program Federation, Inc., the business center successfully opened in 2016 and operates providing more opportunities to community particularly the beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

The DSWD-SLPA Business Center is a growing business enterprise incorporating different business concepts in one place.

The SLP business center is a perfect avenue to display and promote Palawan products to locals and tourists.

It is located strategically along national highway at the junction of Taytay town. The business center houses the restaurant, grocery store, boutique, souvenirs shops and entertainment place. It is now being managed by trained staff who also form part of the management.

Since this is a community-owned enterprise with government on the side, the members are putting too much premium on the sustainability of the project by actively participating in the operation of the center. It is being ran by 39 beneficiaries who are considered as ‘ wealth generators’ for other beneficiaries of the program.

The project aims to improve the socio-economic condition of members of the SLPAs through group enterprise. The skill to run the business was acquired through the assistance of the LGU of Taytay, the Department of Trade and Industry and the help in various ways of the Philippine Marines.

Aside from economic benefits of the project, the members are able to deepen their understanding on the value of collective action which will lead to strengthening community ties and development. Likewise, the strengthened partnership with external partners are steadfast foundation of the project.

The approach in community empowerment of DSWD is proven effective to develop the sense of ownership among community members. Through this, the members are gripping tight not to let go of their dreams.

The journey towards economic independence of DSWD SLP members may take a longer time, but the good news is, the government is always on the side to provide guidance to the community when passion is weakening and the direction sometimes is taking a swerving path.

Today, the business center still operates successful and is growing by adding more business activities in the center thus provides bigger income opportunity to its beneficiaries. ### (Joy Tabuada)

Source: Palawan News