In an effort to establish better livelihood assistance for individuals affected by disasters and armed conflicts, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)  has amended its policy on the provision of Seed Capital Fund (SCF) amounting to a maximum of P20,000 to internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Memorandum Circular No. 15 or the “Special Guidelines on the Provision of Seed Capital Fund (SCF) to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS) or Persons Displaced by Disasters due to Armed Conflicts or any form of Disasters” amended the procedures on the preparation of project proposal and the implementation process.

Under the amended policy, the Department reiterated that each IDP can only prepare one proposal for the seed capital grant.  Thus, IDPs are requested to exercise careful planning of their proposal for this one-time opportunity.

The requirements include the submission of an accomplished livelihood assessment form and the master list of affected families or individuals signed by the DSWD Regional Director or his or her designated official.  The DSWD Disaster Assistance Family Access Card (DAFAC) of the affected family or individual is no longer needed as an attachment to the proposal.

In the absence of a DSWD master list, the individual submitting a proposal may submit a list of affected families or individuals duly certified by the Local Government Unit (LGU) or the mandated government inter-agency task force/committee legally created, subject to the validation of DSWD.

DSWD Secretary Virginia N. Orogo said that the Department has amended its policy to take into consideration the master list of disaster victims from other authorized agencies other than the DSWD, such as the LGUs or the inter-agency committees created like the Task Force Bangon Marawi.

Sec. Orogo emphasized that this policy is the reference of the Department in providing livelihood grants to the Marawi IDPs.

The MC 15 also revised the requirement on the Grant Releasing Process emphasizing that the authorized recipient of the grant capital is the person whose name is indicated in the proposal.

In his or her absence, a duly signed authorization and a photocopy of the identification card of the grantee are needed by the legal-aged representative. However, the DSWD will still need to validate the claim of the representative and may request for other pertinent identification documents.

The Secretary said that since this project is highly important and involves government resources, the Department is exercising caution in releasing the grants. This is also in line with the DSWD’s thrust of protecting public funds. ###