The Department of Social Welfare and Development intends to focus more on the “development” aspect of its work in helping the country’s poorest of the poor, according to Undersecretary for innovations Edu Punay in a recent media forum.
“We want to move away from being just an ayuda agency. Now, we’re also gearing towards the development side. But, we are not abandoning our mandate on financial aid,” he said.j
Punay, however clarified that dole outs to deserving and qualified beneficiaries will still remain. “We just want to do away with mendicancy. This is because our job is not only anchored on social welfare, but there’s a development task as well.”
This is the rationale behind new programs initiated by DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian who wants ‘data driven’ projects undertaken on a whole-of-government approach to include not just the national government but also local government units.
“This is the design of the program. We focus on development and we want to capacitate them to remove them from the poverty line. We’re bringing an enabling environment that does not only involve cash assistance,” Punay said.
“That is why these programs need big collaboration with the departments of health, labor and employment, and education. Very much like 4Ps because we want them to be healthy and they should stay in school. We have to address malnutrition, there’s stunting among children,” he added.
The former journalist further explained that the DSWD is “helping them by giving them tools on how to be out of the poverty line because we firmly believe that Filipinos are not lazy. The only thing lacking for them is opportunity and an enabling environment. We also want to address involuntary hunger.”
Shifting the focus from ayuda or dole outs to encouraging development should be the natural evolution of the DSWD, and it is heartening to see the agency striving to go towards that direction.
As the popular saying goes “give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” As the DSWD has become an expert at giving Filipinos ‘fish’, it may be about time to start to encourage them to catch their own fish as well.*
