The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reiterated Monday that the P80,000 in financial aid given to Rose — the woman who emerged from a Makati sewer — is not a reward but a form of livelihood assistance based on existing guidelines and an assessment conducted by agency social workers.

“First, this is not a reward. I want to clarify that this is part of the program to reintegrate individuals into the community. If we just return people to their communities, this will just repeat itself. We need to help them have new hope and start new lives through an economic grant,” said DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian.

He added that the financial assistance was determined by Rose’s handling social worker, who conducted a case intake and assessment of her situation, not arbitrarily by himself or anyone else in the department.

“The amount was determined not by me, not by anyone in the department, but by Rose’s handling social worker. Based on her recommendation, based on her intake, she saw that this was the right intervention for Rose to start anew,” the DSWD chief pointed out.

Gatchalian also stressed that all amounts disbursed under the DSWD’s various programs follow established guidelines — with predefined minimum and maximum limits — and must undergo a rigorous evaluation process by social workers.

He extended an apology to social workers or anyone who may have felt offended by the use of the symbolic title “honorary social worker” to describe Rose’s willingness to help the DSWD reach out to other street dwellers in Makati City.

“If this term offended any of our social workers, I myself apologize. That was not the intention of our social workers or the Department or myself in giving her that symbolic title. But I want to assure you again that I know the DSWD has no power to confer any degree because that is not within our authority,” Gatchalian said.

As part of the DSWD’s Oplan Pag-abot, the agency has been actively reaching out to families and individuals in street situations since 2023, as directed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., to protect them from the dangers of living on the streets and reintegrate them into their communities.

“As the President said to me when I was appointed to the Department, no Filipino family should be living on the streets. That is what our Oplan Pag-abot has been doing since 2023, where we have rescued more than five thousand families from the dangers of living on the streets and brought them to our shelters or returned them to their provinces, or like Rose, returned them to their community with accompanying financial assistance to start anew,” Gatchalian said.