Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 20) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed government agencies to expand the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) program for vulnerable individuals who live on the streets.
In Executive Order (EO) No. 52 dated Jan. 18, Marcos ordered the institutionalization of the “Pag-abot” program and the creation of an inter-agency committee that will join the DSWD in providing beneficiaries with social safety nets and protection.
\”It is imperative to institutionalize the Pag-abot Program to ensure effective delivery of services towards addressing poverty and social and economic equality in the country,\” Marcos said in the EO made public on Saturday.
A DSWD memorandum circular said the Pag-abot program – which means to \”reach out\” in English – seeks to help children \”who depend on the streets to live and/or work,\” adults on the streets and other public areas \”who are found to be vagrants, mendicants, and psychotics,\” and homeless families residing on sidewalks and pavements.
The EO states that the program will include financial, transportation, relocation, transitory shelter, livelihood, employment, and psychosocial aid.
The new inter-agency committee will be chaired by the DSWD secretary, while the Department of the Interior and Local Government secretary will act as vice-chair.
Other members include the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of Health, the Department of Budget and Management, the Department of Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
