DSWD’s proposed 2024 budget hiked by 5.22% to P209.9B — DBM

The proposed budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has been increased by P10.4 billion or 5.22% next year to support the agency’s poverty reduction and community development initiatives, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said Tuesday.

In a statement, the DBM said the budget allocation for the DSWD under the 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP) stands at P209.9 billion, higher than the P199.5 billion earmarked in the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Of the agency’s total budget, 56.46% or P118.5 billion was set aside for the DSWD’s promotive programs.

The DBM identifies the Social Welfare Department’s promotive programs as those in the agency’s strategic grouping of flagship social protection projects aimed at helping to reduce poverty through conditional cash transfer, community-driven development, and sustainable livelihood.

Among the flagship initiatives of the DSWD are the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), with an allocation of P112.84 billion, and the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) with a budget of P5.6 billion.

Meanwhile, the DBM said P76.2 billion was allotted to the DSWD’s protective programs, the agency’s sector-focused social welfare programs and services, and the disaster response office. 

These programs serve DSWD’s primary clients—the poor and vulnerable groups and communities that are given the means to improve their lot, according to the Budget Department.

The protective programs of the DSWD include Protective Services for Individuals and Families in Difficult Circumstances with an allocation of P20 billion, Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens with P49.8 billion, Assistance to Persons with Disability with P10.7 million, Recovery and Reintegration Program for Trafficked Persons with P23.8 million, and Services to Displaced Persons (Deportees) with a P51.2 million budget.

Moreover, P4.1 billion was allocated to the DSWD’s Supplementary Feeding Program.

The agency’s Disaster Response and Rehabilitation Program was allotted P1.9 billion, while a separate Quick Response Fund (QRF) has an allocation of P1.3 billion.

The DSWD’s programs and projects also include the Social Welfare and Development Agencies Regulatory Program with an allocation of P71.8 million, the Social Welfare and Development Technical Assistance and Resource Augmentation Program with P1.2 billion, the Philippine Food STAMP (Strategic Transfer and Alternative Measures Program) with P1.9 billion, and the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) Peace and Development Fund with P900.1 million. 

The PAMANA fund is exclusive to projects in conflict-affected areas identified by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), according to the DBM. — VBL, GMA Integrated News