DSWD-7 continues to conduct rounds of reach-out activities in Metro Cebu

CEBU CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office 7-Central Visayas continues to conduct rounds of reach-out activities across Metro Cebu to reach children, individuals, and families living in street situations through the Pag-abot Program.

With the establishment of the Pag-abot Processing Center (PCC), these reach-out operations have intensified, with support from partner stakeholders, including the Local Social Welfare and Development Offices and Anti-Mendicancy Offices of the highly urbanized cities.

DSWD-7 regional director, Shalaine Lucero said these street dwellers reached by DSWD are profiled and, with their consent, brought to the PCC where they are provided with appropriate care and interventions to prepare them for reintegration into their hometowns and communities.

The goal is to help them rebuild their lives and become productive members of society, Lucero said. The Pag-abot Program is one of DSWD’s flagship initiatives that aims to provide a better future for children, individuals, and families living on the streets through comprehensive social protection packages and interventions.

 

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Reaffirming the administration’s commitment to inclusive social protection, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. inaugurated the Pag-abot Processing Center (PPC) in Barangay Tayud, Liloan, Cebu, February 26 during his visit in Cebu of the same date.

This is the third PPC in Central Visayas that provides comprehensive social protection services for children, individuals, and families in street situations while awaiting reintegration.  “The facility will cater to the three major cities in Cebu—Cebu City, Mandaue City and Talisay City to ensure the welfare of Families and Individuals in Street Situations (FISS),” DSWD secretary Rex Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian emphasized that the agency will link beneficiaries to long-term support programs, including economic assistance, livelihood opportunities, educational support, and other social protection services, to prevent FISS from returning to street situations.

Gatchalan shared that in Cebu, there are more than 600 homeless individuals have been recorded by the DSWD which is implementing the Pag-Abot Program to help families and individuals in street situations.  The program provides health services, food, clothing, psychosocial and livelihood support, temporary housing, and family reintegration to help beneficiaries move toward stable and dignified lives.

DSWD secretary Gatchalian briefed President Marcos as they toured the Pag-Abot Processing Center, visiting the clinic, processing area for beneficiary assessment, profiling, biometrics, and clothing distribution, storage, and laundry area, kitchen and dining hall, administrative office, senior citizens’ room, isolation room, and prayer and activity areas.

The Center is equipped with clinics, regular rooms, rooms with individual toilets and baths, a communal comfort room with five toilets and four showers, an administrative office, an activity area, a prayer room, a kitchen and dining area, a conference room, a profiling area, a baggage counter, a stockroom, and a laundry area with clotheslines.

The PPC facility can accommodate over 120 beneficiaries and it provides temporary shelter for about one month as part of a structured reintegration process aimed at restoring stability and creating opportunities.

The DSWD Field Office VII continues to conduct proactive reach-out operations for individuals and families in street situations across the Cities of Cebu, Bogo, Carcar, Danao, Naga, Talisay and Toledo — strengthening the government’s whole-of-nation approach to uplift lives and build safer, more inclusive communities. (Photos: DSWD7)