MANILA – The registration, licensing and accreditation by social welfare and development agencies (SWDAs) could soon be done online through the Harmonized Electronic License and Permit System (HELPS), according to an official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
In a media forum at the Central Office’s New Press Center in Quezon City on Thursday, DSWD-Standards Bureau Assistant Director Cynthia Ilano told reporters that the initiative is anchored on one of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s 10-point socioeconomic agenda which calls for the digitalization of government processes and operations.
Ilano said through the HELPS, SWDAs can now submit their requirements and monitor the status of their applications real-time.
“Dito po, in the HELPS, ang gagawin nalang po natin ay lahat ng applications, magiging online po. Currently po, traditional ang ginagawa natin. Meaning, yung mga SWDAs natin, they need to go here pa or sa ating Field Offices to submit the requirements and we will process traditionally. Manual po. Para po makasabay tayo sa agenda ng ating mahal na Pangulo (Here, in the HELPS, all applications will be done online. Currently, we follow a traditional process where SWDAs need to come here or to our Field Offices to submit requirements, and we process them manually. This is also in support of the agenda of President Marcos),” Ilano said.
This innovation is also attuned to one of the seven priority programs and initiatives of the DSWD, the Paspas Serbisyo Program, which is one of the innovations under the administration of DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian.
The Paspas Serbisyo program aims to streamline, reengineer, automate, digitalize, and centralize the current regulatory programs of the DSWD.
Ilano also discussed the agency’s streamlined process of application, citing a simplified procedure with lesser requirements. The processing days will be reduced to seven working days, trimming the previous 49 steps to 12 steps.
These streamlined processes are included in the new guidelines issued by the DSWD chief that will take effect after publication in the official gazette, she said.
“Ngayon po lahat ay magiging online transaction na. Kung dati, separate po ang application ng registration and licensing, ngayon isa na lang (Now, all transactions will be done online. Previously, the application for registration and licensing were separate, but now you can process both in one application),” Ilano added.
HELPS is scheduled to be launched by the end of June while its full implementation is expected in July.
Through this reengineered system, which is seen to increase the number of licensed SWDAs, the DSWD aims to serve more poor and vulnerable sectors with improved quality service. (PNA)
