DSWD acts to provide assistance to families of soldiers killed or wounded in action

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 30): DSWD acts to provide assistance to families of soldiers killed or wounded in action

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said on Tuesday that it has begun to act on the instructions of President Rodrigo R. Duterte to provide its counterpart assistance to the families of some 95 soldiers who were wounded in action (WIA) and four soldiers killed in action (KIA).

It can be recalled that Malacanang has instructed the DSWD, along with the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), to provide assistance to the families of the WIA/KIA soldiers.

DSWD Undersecretary for Institutional Development Group (IDG) and Usec. Mae Fe Ancheta-Templa said that the DSWD’s Protective Services Fund Management Office led by Director Pacita Sarino has already forwarded the list of the KIA/WIA soldiers to the DSWD Field Offices where the soldiers' families live.

The list also includes information on the dependents of the WIA/KIA soldiers.

“The status of the families will be subjected to assessment and eligibility for the various programs of the DSWD,” Usec. Ancheta-Templa said.

She clarified though that the eligibility will not necessarily mean inclusion in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) because there are also other programs that may suit the needed intervention.

“We have an existing system to deliver the most apt and suitable services for the dependents of the K/WIA soldiers, and this system is implemented through the swift coordination between the DSWD Central Office and Field Offices. DSWD-FO social workers in the regions where the soldiers’ dependents live will conduct home visits to determine their needs and assess what services and interventions can be provided to them. At the onset, the assistance that we can immediately provide are educational, livelihood, and employment opportunities through skills training for the dependents. If the soldiers have senior citizen parents, we can enroll them in the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens,” the DSWD official said.

Meanwhile, Usec. Ancheta-Templa said that four of the soldiers have already been assessed as 4Ps members, and their families will receive one sack of rice per month.

She assured that DSWD will provide Malacanang, through the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), updates on the status of the assistance the DSWD and its Field Offices will provide the dependents of the KIA/WIA soldiers.

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