Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian vowed to strengthen the government’s interventions to break the cycle of poverty as he got the nod of the powerful Commission on Appointments yesterday.
He said the department will particularly strengthen the 4Ps program as well as livelihood interventions under the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) and KALAHI-CIDSS.
These will ensure that beneficiaries who were assisted by the DSWD will no longer go back to being poor, Gatchalian said.
“Once they graduate from 4Ps, they’re now called non-poor. They will be in the near-poor line, or families making P15,000 to P18,000 (monthly) supposedly. (But) we saw during the COVID pandemic that one shock – a death in the family, a lockdown, or a natural disaster – will slip them back to poverty,” he said.
He said there are multiple studies from the Asian Development Bank that say that near-poor Filipinos should already be considered poor.
“So now we’re about to share P16 billion – if I’m not mistaken – for our 4Ps graduates as well as our near-poor,” he said.
Gatchalian vowed to continue the DSWD’s social protection programs.
The social welfare chief was scrutinized by some CA members on the policy programs and reforms of the department and the status of his case before the Ombudsman regarding housing cooperatives when he was still the mayor of Valenzuela City, among others.
Sen. JV Ejercito, for his part, recalled working with Gatchalian, saying he was “amazed” with how the latter turned Valenzuela City into a “yardstick” of local governance.
“I recommend Sec. Rex [for DSWD] not only because of his governance but also because of his innovative programs,” Ejercito said.
Sen. Bong Go also expressed his support for Gatchalian’s confirmation.
“Sec. Rex, along with his family, spent most of his life in public service, having served the government for the last 16 years, including his stint as chief executive of the city of Valenzuela for three consecutive terms. He has proven his unconditional love and devotion to the people and to the country,” Go said.