DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian (PPAB)

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) told a House of Representatives panel that the social protection programs of the government, otherwise known as “ayuda” (aid), were not mere handouts but rather investments that play a crucial role in the economy.

During the budget deliberations of the Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday, Aug. 21, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said that the economic flourish under the Marcos administration couldn't be caught had there been no investments in human capital.

“New jobs are being created, new types of economies are being created. Without us investing in human capital, then all of this would go to waste,” added Gatchalian.

The DSWD chief says that if the Philippines is able to transition into an upper middle-income status, as estimates suggest, then the entire population must be provided adequate investments to appropriately acclimate itself to new economic conditions.

“Our department is precisely called social welfare, that’s our first name, but we also have a last name, called development. And it’s inherent in every state to make sure that you protect the vulnerable, the marginalized, and the poor,” he explained.

“That’s our core mandate. That is in our competency,” he stressed.

With this in mind, Gatchalian said certain programs of the agency were primarily rooted to investing in human capital.

He cited the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), which he claimed many people often refer to as nothing more than “ayuda”. He points out that the program is actually a conditional cash transfer that acts as an investment for the long-term.

There are also other programs such as the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), Food Stamp Program (FSP),and Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS).

Gatchalian said these programs bring development to the “farthest part of the country and into the lowest part of our communities”.

“I would not like to look at ayuda as ayuda, but I rather look at it as investments,” he underscored.

Signs of ‘ayuda’ working

Gatchalian noted that there are already signs that the “ayuda” programs of the government have started to serve its purpose.

In the case of 4Ps, he said there were “telltale signs” which would suggest that it’s working. However, he admitted that it was a bit premature to give a verdict on the program since it was meant to break inter-generational poverty.

“Close to 500,000 grumaduate na sa programa bagamat kailangang subaybayan kasi baka they (have already graduated from the program although they need to be monitored because they might) slip back into poverty. Of that, around 200,000 households now have one college [graduate], so at least mayro’n nang (they have a) diploma and a fair chance to fight,” the secretary said.

Gatchalian says there are also signs that those who graduated from 4Ps are now adopting health-seeking behaviors.

Despite these, he said there are still a lot to be desired in the program’s execution. He said this would necessitate “reengineering”, such as in tightening post-graduation mechanisms.

The DSWD head informed the panel that the agency recently procured two external impact assessment to wholly evaluate the program, especially its lapses.

With these investments for human capital in hand, Gatchalian says the country could significantly reduce poverty by the end of the Marcos administration.

“Based on our economic managers’ assessment, we are back to the pre-pandemic levels of 2018 at 15 percent,” he shared.

“And we know that given all the thrusts that the President is putting in the whole-of-government approach to solve poverty, we believe that we will be able to achieve that single digit poverty level,” he continued.