TAGUM CITY- Tagumenyo senior citizens that number to a hundred recently found themselves fortunate to finally be lifted off the waitlist maintained by local government unit of Tagum’s City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) in relation to who may become eligible for Social Pension.

The waitlist contains the names of Tagumenyos in their twilight years who have not been considered as beneficiaries of the social pension funded and implemented by the national government though the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) due mainly to the priority age bracket set in the guidelines for the implementation of the said pension.

The old-aged citizens of the city, who, on Friday, August 10, 2018, were handed the amount of three thousand pesos (Php 3,000) as social pension for the first and second quarter of the current year, were made this year’s beneficiaries of the LGU-Tagum funded social pension based upon the recommendation of the Barangay Senior Citizens’ Coordinator.

The social pension, which was conceived by the national government, is adopted as a program by the LGU as a means of augmenting the medical as well as the basic needs of the senior citizens living in Tagum while waiting to be included in the national budget of the DSWD.

The local government has allocated an annual budget of Php 600,000 from its local funds to support the subsistence and physical well-being of one hundred Tagumenyo elderlies aged 65 years old and older who are living along the line of indigence with no permanent source of income or compensation, no financial assistance or support from relatives and no pension from the Social Security System, Government Service Insurance System, Armed Forces and Police Mutual Benefit Association.

Notably, the 100 individuals who benefitted from the locally funded social pension program will only receive their annuity from the city government for the four quarters of the current year as their inclusion to next year’s budget of the DSWD-funded pension will be made a priority by the CSWDO.

The program was implemented by the City during the first term of Mayor Allan L Rellon by virtue of City Ordinance No. 686, s-2015, or the Expanded Senior Citizens Ordinance of the City of Tagum which was enacted to protect the rights and ensure that all privileges provided by law are given to the elderlies of Tagum. CIO-Tagum City

PARTNERSHIP FORUM. Over 50 partners from national government agencies, non-government organizations, private sector and civil society organizations convene for the 2018 Partnership Forum hosted by Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The forum aimed at mobilizing support of DSWD Partners as well as converging and harmonizing resources to best respond to the needs of disadvantaged families and communities in the Davao Region area. (DSWD)

Magsaysay, Davao Del Sur -Some 1,000 Listahanan-identified beneficiaries of the 22 barangays here flocked to the Poblacion Gym on Tuesday, August 7 for the registration of eligible recipients of the Unconditional Cash Transfer (UCT) program.

The municipality of Magsaysay is the first municipality to be registered under the UCT for Listahanan beneficiaries in Region 11.

Listahanan, or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), is an information management system of the Department that identifies who and where the poor are in the country.

“Our pilot registration will be conducted in two days and we are thankful that the Local Government Unit of Magsaysay heeded our concerns and has expressed their support to our activity,” Mae F. Valentin, Regional Field Coordinator of the Listahanan, said in her opening remarks.

The payout activity will be scheduled as soon as the registration of the beneficiaries of the remaining 48 municipalities in the region is completed.

“Padayon kami nga nagasalig sa gobyerno sa ilang mga programa para sa among mga pobre. Kami nasayod nga aduna gayud sila plano para sa amoa (We continue to trust the programs of the government for us poor. We believe that they truly have plans for us),” Ephraim Tari, a native B’laan of Magsaysay, said while waiting for his turn in the registration. For this year, the beneficiaries will receive P200 per month or P2,400 for one year. In 2019 and 2020, the subsidy will increase to P300 or P3,600 a year.

UCT is the tax subsidy provided for under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law to help the poor cushion the adverse economic impact of the law for three years, starting 2018. (DSWD XI)

DSWD social workers conduct consultation cum program updating at the newly-launched Social Workers’ Hub located at DSWD XI Compound. The hub was initiated by the Davao chapter of Philippine Association of Social Workers, Inc. (PASWI) and will serve as meeting point of professional social workers from government, academe, industry and medical setting,  where they can conduct consulting, research, conference, coaching and counseling relative to social work and social development. (DSWD)