DAVAO CITY (DSWD XI) -The regional office here of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the city government immediately extended assistance to victims and families of victims of the bombing incident at Roxas Avenue Friday night.

According to Mercedita P. Jabagat, regional chief of DSWD, agency social workers readily conducted hospital and funeral home visits to ensure that immediate needs are promptly addressed.

“We will also provide additional financial assistance to affected families for medical and burial expenses and in due time, we shall conduct psychosocial intervention to affected families,” Director Jabagat said.

Meanwhile, the Local Government Unit through its City Social Services and Development Office (CSSDO) will cover all funeral and medical expenses of the victims.

Per DSWD report, 69 persons were injured and presently admitted at various hospitals in downtown Davao while 13 persons were killed following the incident which occurred around 10 in the evening of September 2.

Reported casualties were: Daniel Larida, Melanie Faith Larida, Jay Adremesin, Rogelio Caganta, Mercy Basilisco, Maria Luz Arellano, Cristelie Decolongon, Ruth Merisido, Reynaldo Salvador, Eufemia Biscocho, Christian Denver Reyes, Evelyn Sobrecary and Pipalawan Macacua.

Roxas Avenue here has been made famous with its night market which opens daily from 5 in the afternoon until two in the morning.

The place has become a convergence point of people from all walks of life, rich or poor. For some residents, it is a vibrant and safe meeting place for families, friends, students and business partners, where almost everything can be had –from food, massage, gadgets, and the most sought after ukay ukay wares of clothes, shoes, linens, pants, bags, etc.

One of the places to go when in Davao, the Roxas Avenue night market is very near Marco Polo Hotel, Aldevinco Shopping Center and Ateneo De Davao University. (DSWD)

Week 2 of Skills Training in Heavy Equipment Operation-Bulldozer NC II (National Competency II) under TESDA-TWSP (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority – Training for Works Scholarship Program. Participants are 25 Pantawid Pamilya and Sustainable Livelihood beneficiaries, as well non-Pantawid family heads of District III, Davao City with INDONELA Institute of Technology Foundation Inc. as service provider. DSWD continues to equip Pantawid families and other disadvantaged families with technical-vocational competencies to prepare them for employment as they complete the training. To date, there are 264,000 families benefiting from Pantawid Pamilya in Davao Region including families belonging to indigenous tribes. (DSWD)

DSWD XI Regional Director Mercedita P. Jabagat encourages program key stakeholders to adhere to the call for genuine compassion for the poor by capacitating them to become self-reliant during the recent Partners’ Forum at Grand Menseng Hotel.

Davao City (DSWD XI) – Local Government Units in Davao Region spearheaded by New Corella Mayor Rhodora Alcoran, Braulio E. Dujali Mayor Atty. Leah Moral-Romano and Sulop Vice Mayor Jose Jimmy Sagarino and some 26 representatives from Civil Society Organizations (CSO) participated in the recent Partners’ Forum at Grand Menseng Hotel.

The activity focused on providing key partners with information as to highlights, gains and successes of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) program implementation in Davao Region. It also responded to issues and concerns regarding the various programs and services vis a vis the gaps based on the Social Welfare and Development Indicator (SWDI) results.

“With the expansion of the different programs and services of DSWD, it is vital that key stakeholders are informed of the accomplishments of the core social protection programs. These include sharing the thrusts and priorities of the Department as directed by the new administration,” said DSWD XI Regional Director Mercedita P. Jabagat

“We, at DSWD, adhere to the call for genuine compassion for the poor and help them to capacitate and to become self-reliant in which we believe requires a joint effort of the National Government Agencies, Local Government Units, private institutions and Civil Society Organizations,” she added.

At present, DSWD XI has 52 active CSO partners assisting the various programs and services offered in all five provinces. (DSWD)

Davao City (DSWD XI) – Some 80 Pantawid Pamilya college scholarship grantees will participate in the 4^th ESGPPA (Expanded Student Grant-In-Aid Program for Poverty Alleviation) Students’ Congress at Eden Nature Park and Resort  on August 31 – September 2.

This year’s student congress focuses on capacitating the student grantees for them to become junior Gender and Development (GAD) advocates in their respective campuses.

Topics up for discussion during the 3-day activity are: Adolescent Reproductive Health Issues and Concerns; Gender, Sexuality and Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression (SOGIE); Stigma and Discrimination; Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI); Human Rights and Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998 (RA 8504); and Tips in Counseling and Communication.

“The ESGPPA started in 2012 in partnership with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). ESGPPA ensures that grantees are enrolled in selected State Colleges and Universities (SUCs) duly recognized by CHED, and channelled to CHED priority courses and be extended the needed support that will guarantee completion of studies thus qualify them for a high-value added jobs in the future,” said DSWD XI Regional Director Mercedita P. Jabagat.

“ESGPPA aims to contribute in the increase of number of enrolment in higher education in line with the national government’s priority degree programs among poor households and support college graduates’ entry to labor markets through placement assistance,” she continued.

Davao Region currently has 2,028 college scholars in eight state colleges/universities –University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP) in Mabini, Tagum, Obrero and Mintal campuses; Davao Oriental State College for Science and Technology (DOSCST) in Mati City; Davao del Norte State College Panabo (DNSC) in Panabo City; Southern Philippines Agri-Business, Marine and Aquatic School of Technology (SPAMAST) in Digos City and Malita Campus. (DSWD)

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Davao City local government unit (LGU) recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the pilot implementation of  Buklod Paglaom para sa Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL) and the Comprehensive Program for Children and Families at Risk on the Streets.

These programs were conceptualized by the Social Technology Bureau (STB) of the DSWD to address the social protection needs of CICL and  street families.

Hope for CICL

Buklod sa Paglaom para sa CICL or the Holistic Psychosocial and Economic (HOPE) Intervention for CICL provides a range of services combining center and community based interventions.

Restorative justice for CICL is the working principle of the program, giving more help to the child to change, rehabilitate, and have opportunities to become productive members of society rather than focusing on retribution.

The program will  include 12-15 year old CICL, as well as their families and the communities where they belong.

Through the program, CICL are  expected to develop and maintain positive and acceptable behavior while their families are taught to become responsive to their need for support and protection. Likewise, community members are equipped to become responsible in preventing juvenile delinquency.

This newly developed program is in compliance with Republic Act (RA) No. 9344 as amended by RA No. 10630 or the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act, which specifically mandates government to provide special focus to the needs of the CICL.

DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo said,  “CICL must be given all the assistance which government can provide to help them be rehabilitated and achieve a better future.  Oftentimes, these children are also victims of their circumstances.  Hindi natin dapat pabayaang manatili sila sa kanilang mga kinalalagyan.  Kailangan nila ng tamang gabay at hindi parusang panghabang-buhay nilang pagdudusahan(We should not abandon them in their present situation. These CICL need guidance and not punishment that would traumatize them for the rest of their lives).”

Protection for street families

From September to October 2015, the DSWD conducted a rapid appraisal of street children/street families in Davao City which recorded 374 children, 117 families and 169 individuals considered to be at risk on the street.

As a result of the appraisal, the DSWD conceptualized the Comprehensive Program for Children and Families at Risk on the Streets for pilot implementation in the city.

Under the program,  street families/children in the city will be provided with various services to include the establishment of activity centers for children;  group work sessions with the children and their families; and, provision of homelife supplies, hot meals, cash for work, livelihood assistance, and financial literacy, among others. All these are aimed at eventually taking them off the streets.

“DSWD is grateful to Davao City LGU for accepting these programs and for their commitment to care for the CICL and the street dwellers.  Providing vulnerable sectors with social protection is the responsibility of  the government, both at the local and national level, in partnership with the private sector. We must work hand in hand to ensure that we can make a change in the lives of the poor through genuine and compassionate public service,” Sec. Taguiwalo said.

The DSWD will assess the effectiveness of the two programs after one year of pilot testing and will subsequently replicate these in other LGUs nationwide next year. ###

Pantawid Pamilya Program participants of Barangay Baguio Proper, District 3 of Davao City complete the Community Based Skills Training Program on Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) under the supervision and facilitation of University of South Eastern Philippines (USEP), College of Technology-Extension Unit and Sustainable Livelihood Unit of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Upon completion of the program, beneficiaries will then be eligible to take the TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) Mandatory National Assessment for SMAW National Competency I. (DSWD)

[L-R] CSSDO head Ma. Luisa T. Bermudo, City Administrator Atty. Zulieka Lopez, DSWD Social Technology Bureau Director Thelsa P. Biolena and DSWD XI Regional Director Mercedita P. Jabagat signing the MOA to implement two social technology programs.

Davao City (DSWD XI) – The local government of Davao City recently signed a memorandum of agreement with Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for a social technology project focused on children in conflict with the law (CICL) and a Comprehensive Program for Street Children, Street Families and Indigenous Peoples (COMPRE).

Buklod Paglaom Para sa Children In Conflict with the Law (CICL) sa Bahay Pag-asa Children’s Village and COMPRE are two programs piloted in four areas in the Philippines -Isabela, Caloocan City, Misamis Occidental and Davao City.

DSWD XI Regional Director Mercedita P. Jabagat said that the Buklod Paglaom (Convergence of Hope) project with a range of services integrating center and community based interventions, and employing a holistic approach, aims to address the risk factors in the child, his family and the community.

On the other hand, COMPRE provides a package of services, interventions and opportunities to street children, street families and Bajaus to help them live productively in a safe environment, Director Jabagat explained.

“We welcome the Holistic Psychosocial and Economic (HOPE) intervention for CICL as it augments the city government’s current intervention and rehabilitation programs for our children in Bahay Pag-asa and as we formalize as well our partnership in this comprehensive program for street children, families and IPs. With this intervention from the DSWD we will also be able to help families of the children in the center,” representing Mayor Sara Z. Duterte, City Administrator Atty. Zulieka Lopez said in her message.

Also present at the ceremonial signing were City Social Services and Development Officer Ma. Luisa T. Bermudo and DSWD Social Technology Director Thelsa P. Biolena.

DSWD will provide P 3,213,402.00 for COMPRE and P 307,622.00 for the Buklod Paglaom while the city government will ensure implementation of program/s components and carry out activities as identified in the work and financial plan.

The Social Technology Bureau of DSWD is responsible for the development and enhancement of customer-driven social protection technologies which address the current and emerging needs/issues of the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals, groups or families. (DSWD)

Fausto Libranza leads the construction of Potable Water System through Kalahi-CIDSS with a total grant allocation of P 1,435,320.00.

Compostela, Compostela Valley (DSWD XI) – Fausto Libranza, 83, is a Barangay Captain here in Gabi. For decades of service in his community, he finds it hard to imagine what lies ahead when he gets old. But upon the entry of Kalahi-CIDSS in Gabi in 2010, things changed for him.

“Our functions do not end as we age, we learn new things each day and we use what we have learned to help our community. My age is never a hindrance for me to help my community,” shared Libranza.

During the 2nd Kalahi-CIDSS Regional Bayani Ka Awards in February, Libranza was cited Best Volunteer for his active participation in Kalahi-CIDSS implementation under the Senior Citizen Category.

The award-giving body seeks to recognize the contribution of program supporters in promoting community driven development, and convene Kalahi-CIDSS volunteer-champions and heroes from different communities and share their best practice.

Kalahi-CIDSS, or Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services is one of the core programs of DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) that aims to empower communities through enhanced participation in local governance and poverty alleviation projects.

Never too old or too late

Libranza is a high school graduate who grew up in Barangay Gabi.

Libranza and his wife Elioteria, 80, have nine children.

“I never imagined Kalahi-CIDSS would open opportunities to senior citizens like me.” He reflected at the end of the first barangay assembly he attended in 2010.

When he volunteered in Kalahi-CIDSS, he realized that he’s never too old to serve his community. In fact, he was elected Barangay Sub-Project Management Committee (BSPMC) chair of Kalahi-CIDSS PAMANA.

“Sa kadugay nako og panerbisyo sa barangay isip usa ka barangay kapitan, wala ko magtoo nga musalig gihapon sila maskin pa og tigulang na ko (With my long stint as barangay chair, I never thought the community would still trust me to lead considering my age).”

Shortly, Libranza started to lead the construction of a potable water system with a total grant allocation of P 1,435, 320.00.

“Na challenge ko sa pag implementar sa water system nga sub-proyekto. Kami gyud ang mamalit sa mga materyales sa Davao. Kailangan according gyud sa standard. Kung ing-ani ang sub-proyekto sa gobyerno, mas maayo kay makita nato kung unsa ang atong gigastuhan. Naa gyud transparency (I was challenged during the implementation of the water system sub-project. We were the ones who purchased the materials in Davao. We had to follow standards. It is best if government projects are run like this because it is clear where the funds went. There is transparency).”

Libranza also talked about his passion for helping others. “It gave me immense joy. Even if there’s no financial compensation, I felt fulfilled that I was able to help my community.”

He also encouraged fellow senior citizens to engage in Kalahi-CIDSS activities.

To date, a total 1,844 community volunteers are senior citizens based on Kalahi-CIDSS monitoring and evaluation record.

“We can still make a big difference,” said Libranza when he received his recognition as best senior citizen. “Senior citizens still could and should play a vital part in the development of our community.”

Libranza’s one wish for his community: “I hope our youth today would take part and have a concern for the community. I hope they sustain what Kalahi-CIDSS has started.” (DSWD)