Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Saturday said he has assured members of Congress that the agency will continue enhancing its programs and services and provide unhampered support to vulnerable individuals and families with the proposed P229.7 billion funding for 2025 during the budget hearing last Wednesday, 21 August.

“We are continuously enhancing our systems to further improve program implementation and we expect more improvements as we revisit our business processes as a precursor to the systems re-engineering of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) ecosystem,” Gatchalian reported to the House Committee on Appropriations.

The DSWD is proposing almost half of the agency’s budget for the 4Ps program that is currently serving more than 4 million household- beneficiaries.

“For 2025, we propose a budget of P114 billion for the 4Ps with P104 billion allocated for cash grants to eligible households, including the cash grants for the first 1,000 days for health monitoring during pregnancy until the child has turned two years old,” the DSWD chief said.

Gatchalian earlier announced the addition of “First 1000-day grant” to 4Ps members which will provide supplementary cash grants for beneficiaries who are pregnant and nursing mothers to further improve the health and nutrition of their children during the critical first 1,000 days.

The DSWD chief said that in 2023, the DSWD served 98.6 percent or 4.3 million of the target households, with 100 percent obligation rate and a 96.7 percent disbursement rate utilizing the entire P93.9 billion fund allocation.

SocPen for indigent seniors

For the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SocPen) Program, the DSWD is proposing P49.8 billion to cover the 4.85 million target indigent seniors in the country.

“The SocPen Program, which provides regular financial assistance to elderly Filipinos living below the poverty line, which is subject to further qualifications provided in the law. In 2023, we successfully served 4.2 million indigent senior citizens, exceeding our target by 3.2 percent,” the DSWD chief pointed out.

Protective services for individuals in crisis

To provide continued support to vulnerable individuals and families, Gatchalian said the DSWD proposes a budget of P35.1 billion for the agency’s protective services for individuals and families in difficult situations.

“This will allow us to expand the reach and enhance our services,” the DSWD Secretary said.

Feeding program for kids

For the Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP), which provides augmentation to feeding programs for children in Child Development Centers (CDC) and Supervised Neighborhood Play (SNP) managed by local government units, the DSWD is proposing a P5.1 billion fund allocation.

The proposed budget will be used to cover hot meals and milk for more than 1.58 million children in CDCs and SNPs.

“To enhance the SFPs impact, we have implemented several improvements, including adjusting the program timeline to align with the cash-based budgeting system, increasing the frequency of feeding to twice a day, and expanding eligibility for fund transfer…While we are committed to addressing the challenges, we hope that funding should be sufficient to ensure that the program continues to benefit as many children as possible,” Gatchalian explained.

Care facilities

The DSWD chief also highlighted the services to clients in residential and non-residential care facilities (CRCFs).

Currently, the agency operates 76 centers and residential care facilities nationwide to provide care and support to vulnerable individuals, including children, youth, and adults.

“We have P2.9 billion for 2025 to enhance the quality of care provided in our facilities. This budget will support the continued operation of our CRCFs and the implementation of necessary improvements,” the DSWD chief told the members of Congress present at the hearing.

Disaster response efforts

The Disaster Response and Rehabilitation Program (DRRP), which plays a crucial role in providing operational costs of the Department in the implementation of its disaster risk reduction, as well as risk resiliency program for climate change adaptation and mitigation, was also among the programs presented by the DSWD Secretary.

Secretary Gatchalian said the DSWD proposes P1.9 billion for DRRP and P1.2 billion for the Quick Response Fund (QRF).

“To ensure continued preparedness and effective response to future disasters, the DSWD requests the support of the committee in maintaining adequate funding for the QRF and carefully review the proposed special provision for 2025 to avoid restrictions that may put us in a bind and hamper the swift delivery of response should disasters happen,” Gatchalian said.

In closing, the DSWD Secretary expressed his gratitude to the members of the committee for the opportunity to present the agency’s proposed budget for 2025.

“The budget we have presented outlines our commitment to serving the most vulnerable Filipinos through programs that address poverty, hunger, malnutrition, and disaster risk. We have demonstrated our ability to effectively manage resources and deliver results as evidenced by our improved financial position,” the DSWD chief said in his closing statement.