RPPe APPRO PANEL ENDS HEARING ON DSWD's P229.78-B PROPOSED 2025 BUDGET

The House Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co, on Wednesday terminated its hearing of the proposed P229.786 billion budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), including its attached and supervised agencies, for 2025. 

DSWD budget sponsor and Negros Oriental Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong took note of the DSWD's improvements in terms of budget utilization and project implementation, stressing the need to ensure that the DSWD's proposed budget would lead to sufficient and responsive social protection.

DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian reported that, under the 2025 National Expenditure Program (NEP), the budget for the operations of the Office of the Secretary has been reduced by 7.5 percent due to program adjustments, as compared to the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA). 

However, he noted that all attached and supervised agencies received budget increases ranging from minimal to substantial.

"The majority of the budget, approximately 95 percent or P215.5 billion, was allocated for maintenance and other operating expenses. This covers program implementation, including grants and subsidies to beneficiaries, as well as administrative costs," Gatchalian explained.

He added that P477.563 million, equivalent to about 0.2% of the DSWD proposed budget, was earmarked for Capital Outlay (CO) to support infrastructure development and ICT asset acquisition. 

The remaining 6.5%, or P10.6 billion, is designated for Personnel Services (PS), covering salaries and benefits for approximately 20,000 employees.

"It's important to note that while a substantial portion of the budget is allocated to MOOE, the relatively small share for PS highlights a potential disparity. The limited budget for PS may not fully reflect the number of people working tirelessly to deliver these crucial programs and services," Gatchalian pointed out.

He also mentioned ongoing efforts to optimize their workforce in line with the President's directive. 

"We are concurrently conducting a comprehensive review of our staffing levels, particularly in critical areas like disaster response and social case management, with the end-view of requesting the DBM for additional positions and allowing our contract of service personnel to qualify for employment in available regular and contractual positions," he stated.

Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez proposed restoring or augmenting the DSWD's budget, which saw a reduction of P18.3 billion compared to last year. 

Gatchalian also hoped that the budget will be reinstated and added that they have already submitted a request to the Department of Budget and Management for additional regular positions to address the agency's staffing shortages.

Meanwhile, 4Ps Party-list Rep. JC Abalos questioned the food threshold, citing the National Economic and Development Authority's (NEDA) data that a family of five needs at least P9,581 monthly, or P64 per person daily, to meet basic food needs. 

Gatchalian responded that the DSWD, particularly their social workers, agree that P21 is clearly not enough.

He emphasized that the agency uses both monetary and non-monetary indicators, like the Social Welfare and Development Indicators (SWDI), which accounts for the overall well-being, not just the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data. 

"So we would like to assure the committee that in DSWD, we look at programs and targeting through the lens of a social worker, hindi lang in a lens of an economist or the numbers from PSA. That's the beauty of this department, that can tell you that may human factor in targeting all the time," Gatchalian said.