Showing posts with label Department of Social Welfare and Development. Show all posts

The Pitifully Neglected Sectors

Of the Philippine Society

By Apolinario Villalobos

During my stint with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) way back in the late ‘70s, the agency had a bureau for the family and child welfare. If ever the agency has maintained such targeted sector of the society which I view as a must, I cannot fathom why the streets and nooks of cities, especially, Manila still teem with many mentally-deficient (taong grasa), beggars and rugby-sniffing boys and girls.

I do not expect the streets to be totally free of these compatriots, but the DSWD’s effort should be consistent, realistic, and visibly manifested in many ways. However, it is only when the city is expecting visits of foreign dignitaries that the local government units and the DSWD round up the vagrants and practically “haul” them to “compounds” as an effort to hide them from the sight of the said visitors, to give the city streets a semblance of “cleanliness”. As soon as the dignitaries take their flights out of the country, the vagrants are again let loose.

One classic example of this hypocritical and inconsistent effort of the government was the rounding up of the families and street children living on sidewalks along the routes of Pope Francis, during his visit. Those rounded up were brought to an expensive resort outside of Manila, to purportedly have them undergo a “seminar” on a program only the DSWD guys know. Can’t they conduct the “seminar” in Manila and in less expensive venue to save on cost?

On the other hand, the DSWD until now is being questioned on its unbelievably big budget that it is supposed to spend for the lessening of the difficulties of poor Filipino families living in depressed areas. In time however, as expected, and being the culture of Filipinos that easily forgets, such question died down as it gets overwhelmed by more showbiz-like issues, that could easily earn media mileage for “concerned” congressmen and senators.

The decentralization of this concern making local government units (LGUs) directly responsible for the mentioned members of society should not be cited as an alibi to free the DSWD from its responsibilities, as this is tantamount to passing the buck. As the LGUs have become the direct responsible parties, what will the DSWD do? An exposé on the squalid facilities of Manila City for the street children has brought forth its questionable professional capability. And, as usual, to free itself from total liability,   the LGU cried out loud for the lack of budget! Finger-pointing again ensued.

Aside from the street children, others that deserve attention are the mentally-deficient and the beggars. These vagrants pathetically roam city streets to beg for food or rummage among the piles of garbage for morsels, as well as, expose themselves to the elements when they pitifully sleep on sidewalks every night. The non-government organizations and shelters have become alternatives as regards this matter. But they should not be depended on totally as they also rely on grants from private organizations and charitable individuals. Some of them may be lucky to draw attention from the government. Unfortunately, these NGOs are also used by the government agencies as excuses to garner big budgets, but with only insignificant chunk actually reaching the former as “beneficiaries”.

What the country needs are honest-to-goodness social workers, well-trained volunteers, and most especially, realistic assistance programs for the aforementioned neglected sectors of our society. The programs should be the kind that could develop self-respect and self-sufficiency. The DSWD should go deeper into the reasons why these people are living on sidewalks, although, the obvious primary ones are the quest for financial opportunity in the case of families, and neglect of parents in the case of street children, to enable them to come up with appropriate solutions.

What is happening now is that the DSWD and LGUs are practically just waiting for referrals. There is no initiative whatsoever from them to go out of their offices and to reach out to these needy Filipinos. They wait until somebody brings a “case” to them on whom they compose a “case study”. There is no sincerity in their effort and in carrying out their job. In other words, their job is seemed to be limited to just making case studies.

When I visited a nationally-known orphanage, I was told by the staff that they were also getting financial assistance from a government agency, but when asked how often, they kept silent. I noticed three issues of coffee table books about the orphanage and when I browsed through their pages, I found prominently displayed, faces of government officials, especially the agency head with a grand smile as if announcing to the reader that she has done something great for the orphanage! The publications were obviously made as tools to advertise the “accomplishments” of the agency and its chief, at the expense of the orphanage. Expectedly, the expenses for the publications were shouldered by the government agency. While still browsing through the pages, what came into my mind were the plunder cases filed against Napoles for projects with budgets supposedly swollen with commission, and in cahoots with corrupt government officials.

The government is so sick and pestered with sores that nauseatingly smell of corruption and exploitation. While the aforementioned neglected sectors of the Philippine society do not require billions of pesos for their rehabilitation and sustenance, corrupt government officials are steadily and brazenly getting obese for having unlimited appetite as they devour what are not theirs – the honest taxpayers’ money.  

Wala Nang Epek ang Pagbatikos

Sa mga Tiwaling Opisyal

Ni Apolinario Villalobos

Sa pansarili kong pananaw, wala nang epek ang pagbatikos ng mga Pilipino sa mga tiwaling opisyal ng gobyerno, lalo na ang mga itinalaga ni Pnoy sa mga puwesto. Mabilis ang pag-usad ng panahon at tulad ng dati, ay magugulat na lang tayo dahil 2016 na, mag-eeleksiyon na…bababa na si Pnoy kasama ang kanyang mga “bagahe”.

Ano ang nangyari sa mga anomalya tungkol sa mga hindi maipaliwanag na pagkawala ng limpak-limpak na mga donasyon na dapat sana ay pang-rehabilitate ng Tacloban at iba pang nasalanta ng bagyong Yolanda, at isama pa rito ang mga ninakaw sa isang bodega sa Cebu? WALA! Ni walang narinig kung may nasuspinde man lamang. Ni walang narinig na magandang paliwanag mula kay Soliman.

Nadagdagan ang mga bulilyaso ni Soliman sa paghakot niya ng mga taong kalye sa isang mamahaling resort sa BAtanagas upang makaiwas sa mga paningin ni papa Francis nang dumating ito sa Pilipinas. Sa paliwanag na sinabi niya, inakala niyang ang mga Pilipino ay napakabobo na upang paniwalaan siya! Marami ang nagtatanong tuloy kung magkano ang kinitang komisyon mula sa “proyektong” ito.

Ang Maguindanao massacre case ay usad- pagong. Tulad ng dati, inaasahan na namang may mga palusot na paliwanag si Pnoy bago siya bumaba sa puwesto. Baka pumalakpak pa siya dahil nawalan siya ng malaking sagutin. Ni hindi man lang siya naringgan ng kapirasong salita na magpapakita ng pag-alala dahil sa kakuparan ng kaso. Nadagdagan pa ito ng massacre pa rin sa Mamasapano, Maguindanao kung saan ay pinatay ang 44 na pulis at may nadamay na mga sibilyan. Inaasahan na ang matinding pagtatakip upang hindi masisisi ang sinasabing may pakana at ugat ng lahat ng pangyayari na si Purisima na noon pa dapat nag-resign bilang hepe ng PNP.

Ang isang bagay na napansin sa administrasyon ni Pnoy ay kawalan nito ng “sense of urgency”, ganoong maaari naman siyang makialam upang mapabilis ang pagresolba ng mga kaso. Dahil sa kanyang gawi, ang mga ahensiyang may kinalaman ay pumitik-pitik na rin sa pagkilos. Kaya ang mga proyekto, puro bitin, at nabulgar pa na ang iba dahil sa kakuparan ay nakansela ang nakalaang budget at naging “savings” upang magamit ni Pnoy para sa DAP niya.

Kung ano man ang kahihinatnan ng 2016 election ay talagang nakakabahala. Yong isang taong interesadong maging presidente, nakakarating pa sa Mindanao sa pangangampanya. Ang iba namang may intension ay may kalabnawan ang mga pagkatao, dahil sila mismo ay may mga dapat ding sagutin dahil sangkot din sa mga anomalya.

Ang maaaring gawin ng mga Pilipino sa ngayon ay magmatyag at mag-ingay na lang kung kinakailangan upang makatulong sa pamamahagi ng katotohanan…may kahirapan mang gawin, maski papaano ay may nagagawa.

Tanggalin natin sa isip ang pagkakaiba ng mga Pilipino sa relihiyon dahil iisa ang mukha ng korapsyon, ang gumawa ay Kristiyano man o Muslim. Hindi rin dapat isipin ang rehiyonalismo upang maiwasang magbanggit kung saang probinsiya siya galing. Basta ang punahin ay ang taong nagkamali at ang kanyang pagkakamali, at iwasan na lang ang mga personal na isyu. Isipin na lang natin ang kapakanan ng mga Pilipino sa pangkalahatan.

Ang Pagka-OA ni Dinky Soliman

Nang Dumating si papa Francis

Ni Apolinario Villalobos

Hindi lang OA o over-acting kundi sobra-sobra pa, ang ginawa ni Dinky Soliman sa paghakot ng mga taong nakatira sa bangketang dadaanan ng santo papa, para itago sa isang mamahaling resort sa Batangas. Kung ginawa niya ito na walang basbas ng Malakanyang, lumalabas na sipsip siya. Kung may basbas naman, ibig sabihin talagang confirmed na walang binatbat kung gumawa sila ng desisyon.

Hindi man lang nila naisip na ang santo papa ay high-tech, nakatutok sa internet dahil gumagamit ng social sites nito tulad ng twitter. Ibig sabihin, nagba-browse ang santo papa sa internet kaya nakikita nito ang mga iskwater at mga nakatira sa mga bangketa, ang mga batang namamalimos sa kalye, ang mga ga-bundok na mga basura, at iba pa – lahat yan ay naka-post sa internet. Bago pa lang siyang pumunta sa Pilipinas ay alam na nito ang tunay ng larawan ng bansa...kaya hindi na kailangang itago pa ang mga taong bangketa at ibang umaalingasaw na kabulukan ng bansa.

Dapat kasi nagbitaw na itong si Dinky Soliman noon pa man dahil sabi ng maraming Pilipino ay wala namang alam sa pagpatakbo ng ahensiya. At dahil nakadikit siyang parang pagkit sa gobyerno kahit papalit-palit ang administrasyon ay magaling daw itong sumipsip! Ganyan ang linta, na dahil sa tindi ng pagsipsip ng dugo ay halos hindi matanggal sa pagkakadikit sa balat.

Malakas ang alingasaw ng pagduda na pinagkitaan ang paghakot ng mga taong bangketa sa isang resort sa Batangas. Dapat itong imbestigahan.

DSW/Dinky Soliman…Nangangarap!

Ni Apolinario Villalobos

Hindi daw tanggap ni Dinky Soliman, ang secretary ng DSW ang resulta ng bagong survey na maraming nagututom na Pilipino. Hindi daw palpak ang mga programa ng DSW, lalo na ang doled out na pera para sa mahihirap, na hanggang ngayon ay kaduda-duda. Nangangarap siya!

Wala nga siyang maayos na kasagutan sa mga katanungan tungkol sa mga anomalyang nakapaligad sa mga donasyon at pamamahagi nito sa mga biktima ng mga trahedya, hindi pa rin nahiyang magpahayag ng saloobin niya na palpak talaga ang pamumuno niya sa DSW.

Anong feeding program niya ang magpapaliwanag sa sinabi ng senador Grace Poe mismo, na 15milyon na mga bata ay naguguton?

Dapat mag-ikot siyang mag-isa sa Maynila upang malaman niyang mali siya. Bulag yata siya kaya hindi niya nakikita ang mga namamalimos na mga pulubi at  mga bata, ang mga nakatira sa bangketa, ang mga namumulot ng tirang pagkain sa basura. Hindi malaman ng taong bayan kung tao siya o robot dahil wala man lang makitang pag-alala sa mukha niya na ang kulay ay pinatingkad ng kapirasong kulay sa buhok, na pabago-bago sa araw-araw na ginawa ng Diyos! 

Itigil na dapat ni Dinky Soliman ang pangarap na marami ang bilib sa pamamalakad niya ng DSW. Sabagay kung susundin ang ibig sabihin ng marami…maaaring totoo, more than one kasi ang bilib sa kanya – si Pinoy, mga spokesperson nito sa Malakanyang, driver niya at mga katulong, at mismong miyembro ng pamilya niya. Tama siya…marami nga!

Unheeded Messages

By Apolinario Villalobos

When the oil prices soared regularly, much to the disgust of direct consumers, especially, those belonging to way below the median line of economic strata – the lowly drivers of public transports, a message was imparted to the government for the review the oil deregulation Law. And, preferably, scrapping it. The clamor mounted when even groups of businessmen joined the throng of grumbling Filipinos…nothing happened.

When smugglings were still unchecked despite several turnovers at the helm of the Bureau of Customs, there was a loud message to check the system and effect a drastic reshuffling of personnel, but the latter was strongly opposed by the “heavyweights”, who refused to be re-assigned… so, nothing happened.

When it was noticed, that despite series of stringent surveillance of suspected drug dens and laboratories to “ensure” successful operations, almost always, only caretakers are on hand for handcuffing, there was a message to check the total system of the agencies conducting the operations…nothing seemed to have happened.

When it was observed that every after the occurrence of catastrophic devastations of natural calamities, almost always, the first on the scenes are NGOs and private agencies, and the DSW arriving in the middle of rehabilitative operations, there was a clamor to take a closer look at how the said agency operates and possibly change its leadership….the call fell on the deaf ears of the President. The ineptness of the said agency was magnified after the typhoon Yolanda struck Leyte, Samar and some Panay provinces, as donated relief goods were not properly distributed, and some were even stolen from a guarded warehouse in Cebu.

When it was observed that the K-12 was a half-cooked program for the educational system due to the various handicaps such as lack of school rooms, teaching aid materials, expertise of teachers, and unpreparedness of parents on the aspect of finances, a strong message was sent to the President to postpone its implementation….nothing happened, as obviously, he would like to include such program as one of his major accomplishments in view of his nearing farewell in less than two years.

When the price of rice continued its upward trend, there was a call to check the systems of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and National Food Authority NFA, resulting to investigations which went only as far as such a distance – investigation. Nobody was slapped with penalty. Despite the strong message for a change in the leadership of DA…it was never heeded. The high prices are still written on the tags of different commercial rice varieties in the markets, and the government just embarked on an importation binge. Nobody thought of working on programs to help the farmers, and improve agricultural technology. For the sake of media mileage, “inspections” on warehouses were made, that expectedly, waned…so hoarders still are smiling their sweetest.

The trek back home of thousands of OFWs from their beleaguered host countries in the Middle East sends a strong message to the government to take a closer look at how labor and employment issues are being handled by the Department of Labor and Employment. The pockets of unrests in the Middle East have been following an on and off trend…a strong message that the export of labor to these host countries may no longer be reliable, yet, no concrete programs were worked on to spell out the real plans for home-based employment.

Despite strong messages from seasoned Law experts and Constitutionalists to enlighten the President regarding on how he should handle the people’s money, he insisted on his own way, with thanks to his trusted secretaries.

The big question is when will, at  least one call be heeded?