The DSWD Field Office Eight will be holding consultation dialogues with the provincial/city/municipal social welfare and development officers, municipal treasurers and auditors, as well as presidents of the federation of senior citizens associations and chairpersons of the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) of the cities and municipalities of Leyte, Biliran, and Southern Leyte provinces, on May 22 to 23 in Macrohon, Southern Leyte.

The two – day back-to-back activity is one move of the Department to better deal with issues and concerns affecting the implementation of the DSWD ‘s big ticket programs like the Social Pension for indigent  Senior Citizens, Supplementary Feeding program for Day Care Children and Rice Subsidy for the Marginalized Farmers and Fisherfolk. These will include the proper disbursement and liquidation of program funds in the various cities and municipalities of said provinces.

Said DSWD Field Office Eight Regional Director Leticia Diokno, the dialogues will aid in the prompt implementation of these big ticket programs, as she challenged local officials and people’s organizations to work closely together and to maintain transparency at all times. She cited the current battlecry of the Department which is “COMMUNICATE, COORDINATE, COLLABORATE.”

For instance, Diokno stated, there is a need to lessen the burdens of Social Pension Program beneficiaries in claiming their stipends, considering their physical and health conditions. Hence, she added, our stakeholders need to strengthen partnership with one another, and make good their commitment in religiously adhering to the provisions of the law on social pension.

Results of the Social Pension Program evaluation in Region Eight revealed that only 43, 077 of the targeted 138, 960 indigent senior citizens were served last year. The reasons behind this low implementation were transfer of residence, others cannot be located, death of beneficiaries, and errors such as in the exclusion of qualified senior citizens and inclusion of non – potential beneficiaries.