(DSWD PHOTO)

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Saturday, May 31, defended its decision to provide P80,000 in livelihood assistance to “Rose,” the woman who crawled out of a Makati sewer, as online reactions questioned whether her case received priority due to its viral nature.

During a press briefing in Tondo, Manila, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian clarified that the aid is part of the agency’s standard operating procedure and will be released gradually, not in a lump sum.

“In all our case, it’s a gradual monitoring system, hand-holding yan. Ang gagawin ng aming social worker, una bibigyan siya ng paunang tulong—katulad nga raw kagabi, nagsimula na sila bumili ng ibebenta sa tindahan (In all our cases, it’s a gradual monitoring system — it involves hand-holding. What our social worker will do is first provide initial assistance — in fact, just last night, they reportedly started buying items to sell in the store),” he said.

“Then, imo-monitor natin sila uli. ‘Pag nakita natin na maganda ‘yung takbo, dadagdagan at dadagdagan natin hanggang sa mabuo natin ‘yung 80,000 pesos (Then, we’ll monitor them again. If we see that things are going well, we’ll keep adding to the support until the full P80,000 is completed),” he went on.

According to the DSWD chief, Rose’s case is being handled like any other under the DSWD’s Pag-abot Program, with assigned social workers managing and monitoring the livelihood intervention.

“Lagi naman importante ‘yung case management kung tatawagin, at sa lahat ng Department kami lang ‘yung pwedeng magsabi na kami ‘yung pinakamaraming social workers kasi kami ang Department of social workers (Case management is always important, and among all the departments, only we can say that we have the most social workers because we are the Department of Social Workers),” said Gatchalian.

Moreover, he explained that Rose was assessed and profiled like all other clients, and her willingness to rise above street life factored into the agency’s support.

“Nakita ng mga social workers natin na pwedeng maiahon nila yung sarili nila sa lansangan, ibig sabihin meron silang sariling displina kung pano pagkakasyahin ‘yung kanilang kita (Our social workers saw that they have the potential to lift themselves out of the streets, which means they have their own discipline in how they manage their income),” he said.

Rose’s case sparked divided reactions. Some praised the DSWD’s response, while others asked how many people in similar situations go unnoticed simply because they didn’t go viral.