The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) assured the public that all its hotline numbers for the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) are operational and active to receive and respond to queries, complaints, and grievances on the program.
The assurance came after the incident during the congressional hearing on August 26 where the number 0918-912-2813, one of the hotline numbers of the Department, was dialed and turned out to be unattended.
DSWD explained that the number is active but it is limited to TEXT ONLY messages. It is part of the Department’s Wireless Service (WiServ) which is an application to manage its Short Messaging Service (SMS) Gateway. Wiserv facilitates the reception of DSWD related concerns via text keywords and cascades the same to helpdesk moderators for faster response and coordination.
The active hotline numbers that the public can contact, 24/7, are: For TEXT ONLY – 0918-912-2813; For CALL ONLY – 0947-482-2864, 0916-247-1194, 0932-933-3251. It also has a landline number, 8931-81-01 to 07 local 555.
Aside from the mobile and landline numbers, the public may also try the email address, sapgrievances@dswd.gov.ph, and the newly-launched DSWD portal, usaptayo.dswd.gov.ph
Active response to grievances, inquiries
Meanwhile, the Department, through its Agency Operations Center (AOC), has been active in responding to grievances and inquiries received through its various platforms.
From July 27 to August 16 alone, a total of 12,770 grievances via call, 94,643 via email, and 110,313 via WiServe were addressed.
Additionally, the DSWD’s social media accounts continue to respond to messages and comments. For this month, some 2,956 public comments and 3,213 private messages coursed through its Facebook page, facebook.com/dswdserves, were responded to. Likewise, 359 comments and 29 direct messages received via its Twitter, https://twitter.com/dswdserves, were also addressed.
Meanwhile, due to the high volume of incoming inquiries and grievances that led to long queue lines, which in return, withheld callers to contact the designated hotline numbers, the DSWD came up with the uSAP Tayo website. The website, which provides an online platform to address SAP concerns on a timely manner, has received and processed 566 grievances and inquiries since its launch on August 13.
The Department is also studying the hiring of the services of a call center company for one month to assist in answering grievances received through its various platforms.
DSWD vowed to continue to open its communication lines to the public, especially to the beneficiaries of its programs and services, as part of bringing the government closer to the people. ###
