THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has launched several programs that aim to create more opportunities and uplift the lives of Filipinos.
During the 74th anniversary of the agency, led by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday, February 18, 2025, the DSWD introduced new social welfare programs, including the Harmonized Electronic License and Permit System (Helps) to streamline the application process for licenses and permits, and the Minors Traveling Abroad (MTA) System, which modernizes the travel clearance process for children to ensure their safety, particularly by making it available online.
The DSWD also launched the Pamilya sa Bagong Pilipinas Program, which offers services to support family life transitions. It features three components: the Bagong Pamilyang Pilipino, Bumabangon sa Gitna ng mga Hamon, and Maunlad at Matatag na Pamilya.
The Helps will serve as a digital one-stop-shop for the agency’s regulatory services, allowing social welfare and development agencies (SWDAs) to lodge and process their registration, license and accreditation as well as solicitation permits at the comfort of their homes.
Under the MTA, the DSWD signed an agreement with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippine Statistics Authority, National Authority for Child Care, Bureau of Immigration, and the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime to ensure that all information and documentary requirements lodged in the MTA system are meticulously scrutinized and monitored, safeguarding children traveling abroad from potential harm, abuse, or neglect.
In his speech, Marcos commended the agency for its efforts to ensure the welfare of Filipinos.
He said the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) benefits over 4.05 million households, with nearly 678,000 families achieving self-sufficiency.
He said under the program, more than one million high school student beneficiaries have graduated, and 477,000 elementary school children have completed their primary education.
The President also said a total of 270,902 Filipinos benefitted from the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).
In 2024, about 4.28 million senior citizens received social pensions to cover their daily necessities and medical expenses, while at least 7.4 million Filipino families received aid through the Quick Response Fund (QRF), and 540,396 disaster victims were provided early recovery services.
“You are the first to respond but the last to sleep. While others sought shelter from the storm, you walked into the chaos to deliver relief. You have saved lives, brought hope, and demonstrated the true power of compassion,” Marcos said.
“Let us build a Bagong Pilipinas—a nation where every citizen has a chance to dream, to strive, to succeed. A country where compassion is not merely a value, but a way of life,” he added. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)