Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian at the Senate hearing on Tuesday (April 23, 2024) (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)
MANILA – Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Tuesday assured members of the Senate that he will not run for senator in the midterm elections in 2025.
This was after Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go blasted Gatchalian during a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Development for allegedly using DSWD assistance for his political agenda.
"Senator, I am not running for the Senate. In fact, I have even wrote all public polling firms to remove me from the list. I have communicated that several times," Gatchalian said.
Go was referring to a reported delayed distribution of Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) in General Santos City which he said, was only disbursed when Gatchalian went to the city after it was struck by a powerful earthquake late last year.
"You check your records. General Santos City, meron silang validated list. Napakatagal na nilang nag-antay. Ilang buwan silang nag-antay doon. Pagdating mo doon, okay, released. Doblehin mo. So ibig sabihin, pabor-pabor (They have a validated list. They have waited for so long, for how many months. When you arrived there, it was released and was doubled. So meaning, you are being selective)," Go said.
"Ang ni-release ko doon was Emergency Cash Transfer that's why the amount was bigger. Hindi po ako nag-release ng AICS (Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation). In fact, the mayors came to me. We met there with the governor, Emergency Cash Transfer po yung doble na sinasabi ninyo (What I released was Emergency Cash Transfer that's why the amount was bigger. I did not release AICS. In fact, the mayors came to me. We met there with the governor, Emergency Cash Transfer po yung doble na sinasabi ninyo (the double that you were saying)," Gatchalian replied.
According to the DSWD website, AICS provides medical assistance, burial, transportation, education, food, or financial assistance for other support services or needs of a person or family while Emergency Cash Transfer is an adaptive strategy of the DSWD in bridging the gap between immediate disaster relief, humanitarian response and early recovery support in disasters and emergency by providing unconditional cash assistance to disaster-affected families.
The DSWD chief also admitted that the agency encountered some difficulties in its own Financial Management Office resulting in cash shortfalls in some of its regional offices.
Gatchalian assured that they are addressing the problem and will have a clean list by the second quarter of this year.
On Monday, the DSWD Field Office-12 (Soccsksargen) launched the “Tara, Basa!” (Let’s Read!) tutoring program in General Santos City with a memorandum of agreement (MOA) at Mindanao State University (MSU).
The MOA was signed by Soccsksargen Director Loreto Jr. Cabaya; General Santos City Mayor Lorelie Pacquiao, represented by City Councilor Maria Lourdes Casabuena; and MSU- General Santos Chancellor JD Usman Aragasi, represented by Director Diane Mae Ulanday-Lozano.
Some 2,132 struggling and non-reader elementary students will benefit from the tutoring program while 257 college students from MSU-GenSan volunteered to become tutors and youth development workers (YDWs).
Student-tutors will hold reading sessions for struggling and non-reader elementary learners while the YDWs will conduct nanay-tatay (mother-father) teacher sessions for parents and guardians of the grade school program beneficiaries.
In exchange for service rendered, tutors and YDWs will receive cash-for-work salary amounting to PHP403 per session, which is based on the regional daily minimum wage.
“Together, we aim to provide our children with the tools they need to thrive, benefitting not only the students but also our dedicated youth development workers,” Cabaya said in his message during the MOA signing.
Aside from General Santos City, the program now covers more areas across different regions, including Samar province, San Jose Del Monte and Malolos cities in Bulacan province, Cebu City, Marawi City and Taraka in Lanao Del Sur, Quezon province, and the National Capital Region. (PNA)
