MANILA, July 14 — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is participating in the launch this Sunday of the Kilos SAMBAYANAN (Kilos para sa Sampung Batayang Pangangailangan) flagship campaign to attend to the basic needs of Filipinos in their struggle against poverty.
As one of the lead agencies of the Human Development and Poverty Reduction (HDPR) Cluster of the Cabinet of Rodrigo R. Duterte administration, DSWD said the campaign highlights the government’s efforts to provide for the 10 basic needs of the Filipino people.
The formal launch will be held this Sunday, July 16, in Delpan, Tondo, Manila.
Aside from DSWD, other agencies under the HDPR cluster are the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Commission on Higher Education (CHEd).
NAPC has earlier identified the 10 basic needs of the Filipino people — food, land reform, water, shelter, work and national industrialization, healthcare, education, social protection, healthy environment, peace, and people’s participation.
Each government agency under the HDPR cluster has been tasked to come up with their own commitment to provide for these needs.
DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said there is a need for convergence of all the programs of government agencies that provide direct social services to the Filipino people.
On Sunday, various activities will be conducted that aim to introduce the government’s various programs and services to the Filipino people.
There will be an information caravan, forum, cultural performances, information kiosks, and medical-dental services for residents of the surrounding Tondo community.
In line with this, Taguiwalo said all government agencies must commit to help impoverished Filipinos.
“After all, the ultimate aim of government should always be to help the greatest number of Filipinos improve the quality of their lives and ensure that their basic needs are met,” she said. Taguiwalo cited the need to constantly gauge the impact of government programs on the lives of the poor and improve the delivery of social services that have both immediate and long-term impact on their well-being and survival.
Meanwhile, DSWD is now focused on promoting its Lingap sa Masa program – or the free medicine program which is directly being funded by the Office of the President.
Under the program, President Duterte has transferred P1 billion to the coffers of the DSWD to implement the program.
Since the program implementation in March this year, the DSWD now has a total of 11 partner-public hospitals which will facilitate the provision of free medicine to indigent patients.
The first hospitals to implement the program are the Philippine General Hospital for NCR; Jose B. Lingad Memorial Hospital in San Fernando City, Pampanga for Central Luzon; Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City for Western Visayas; Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City for Central Visayas; and Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City and Davao Regional Hospital in Tagum City, both for the Davao Region.
Beginning August 1, Lingap sa Masa will be implemented in the Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, Philippine Children’s Medical Hospital, and San Lazaro Hospital. (DSWD-PR / PNA)
