The latest result of the survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations indicating a rise in the number of Filipino households considering themselves poor poses more of an opportunity to serve the marginalized sector and has not dampened our commitment as implementer of  social protection programs.

The increase in the self-rated poverty in Visayas and Mindanao regions can be attributed to the earthquake that hit Negros Oriental in February and to typhoon Sendong in December, where thousands of families were affected and still reeling from the impact of these disasters. While government interventions kept pouring in, it will take time before the affected families can settle and lead normal lives.

The DSWD continues to move towards inclusive growth.  We are reaching out to more poor households through our Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program now benefitting 2.9 million.  We will expand the program to cover 3  million families this year.

We would like to emphasize that to sustain the gains of the CCT in providing cash grants,  sustainable livelihood through micro-enterprise management and guaranteed employment will be given to households who will graduate from Pantawid Pamilya.  Families who want to engage in micro-enterprises will be given capital assistance of P10,000 each while those who want to have jobs will be accessed to various agencies.

Indigent senior citizens will continue to receive their P500-monthly pension while poor children in day care centers will be provided with supplementary feeding of hot meals and viand.

We are also fast tracking the rehabilitation of  earthquake and typhoon survivors through provision of core shelter units as well as livelihood assistance to enable them to achieve normalcy in their lives.