Davao City – Social protection programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) like Pantawid Pamilya, Kalahi-CIDSS and Sustainable Livelihood will be the main topics at the Social Protection Symposium slated in Ateneo De Davao University on Thursday, November 26. This was bared by Priscilla N. Razon, Regional Director of DSWD.

Other DSWD initiatives for discussion include the Listahanan National Assessment, Convergence Strategy, and the Social Welfare and Development Indicators, Director Razon said.

Further, best practices on social protection as implemented by DSWD program beneficiaries and partners will be shared by Romelyn Barrios-Magallanes, Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer of Sta. Maria, Davao Occidental; Vanessa Ilustre-Diez, Kalahi-CIDSS volunteer-turned KALAHI-CIDSS Community Empowerment Facilitator of Baganga, Davao Oriental; and Gee Phannie Coscos, Pantawid Pamilya Scholar of Malita, Davao Occidental.

Social work students of 18 schools in Mindanao are expected to participate in the forum organized by the National Association of Social Workers Incorporated (NASWEI) in partnership with the regional office of DSWD.

Social protection is defined as policies and programs that seek to reduce poverty and vulnerability to risks and enhance the social status and rights of the marginalized by promoting and protecting livelihood and employment, protecting against hazards and sudden loss of income, and improving people’s capacity to manage risks.

It has four components –social welfare, social safety nets, labor market interventions and social insurance.

Moreover, social protection operational framework includes: 1) protect and prevent people from falling from their current income/consumption level due to various risk factors; 2) build capacity and adaptability to ensure that better quality of life is maintained and sustained; 3) expand opportunities for income expansion and improve human capital investments in the long term; and 4) sustain standard of living in spite of exposure to risks of different types. (DSWD)