DSWD: Gov’t needs help in fighting poverty, caring for street children

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) urged different sectors of society to help the government in alleviating poverty and aiding street children.

“DSWD cannot do this alone, we need the support of all sectors including other government agencies, local government units, faith-based-groups, among others to resolve the issues of poverty and the increasing number of street children,” Acting Secretary Virginia Orogo said at press conference in Quezon City on Thursday.

“We are coming up with new programs that will be more effective in dealing with street children,” Orogo added when asked about the agency’s plans on street chidlren.

Undersecretary Florita Villar, in the same presscon, also discussed updates on the government’s unconditional cash transfer (UCT) program, which is meant to shield poor families from the negative effects of the rising prices of basic commodities.

Villar said that 1.7 million out of the 2.6 million or 80 percent of the identified households based on the 2015 “Listahanan” have been validated as potential beneficiaries of UCT Program under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

“Out of the 1.7 million validated beneficiaries under the Listahanan, 600,000 will receive their UCT grants by the end of July,” Villar said.

According to the DSWD website, the “Listahanan” or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) is an information management system that aids other government agencies, development partners, and other social protection organizations in pinpointing the poor families in the Philippines.

DSWD has targeted the payout of grants of eight million UCT beneficiaries—including 4.4 million Pantawid Pamilya members, three million social pensioners, and the 600,000 Listahanan validated recipients.

“As early as March 5, we have provided the approved list of some 4.1 million UCT beneficiaries to Landbank for payout,” Villar added.  /vvp