Director Justin Caesar Anthony Batocabe of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Social Welfare Institutional Development Bureau (SWIDB) discusses the updates on the operations of the DSWD Academy during the Thursday Media Forum on February 6 at the Central Office’s New Press Center in Quezon City.
The SWIDB director also reported to the members of the media the progress of the DSWD Academy building renovation and the offered courses in the learning facility.
Social Technology Bureau (STB) Project Development Officer Diane Gianan, for her part, discussed the Psychosocial Support and Other Interventions for Adolescent Mothers and their Families Project or ProtecTEEN, a DSWD initiative aimed at preventing teenage pregnancy and providing interventions for adolescent mothers and their families.
The weekly Thursday Media Forum, held at the DSWD Central Office’s New Press Center in Quezon City, is hosted by Special Assistant to the Secretary (SAS) for Communications Raymond Robert Burgos and Director Dianne Joie Ruiz of the Digital Media Service (DMS). The forum is live-streamed over the DSWD Facebook page.
DSWD firms up initiative for adolescent moms as teenage pregnancy remains a nat’l concern
As teenage pregnancy remains a national concern, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is strengthening its services for adolescent mothers to ensure their psycho-social well-being as they assume their parental roles at a very young age.
Project Development Officer (PDO) Diane Gianan of the DSWD’s Social Technology Bureau (STB) said on Thursday (February 6) that the Department has embarked on the project “ProtecTEEN” that aims to contribute to various government initiatives that help prevent teenage pregnancy and minimize the vulnerabilities of adolescent mothers.
“The ProtecTEEN project is the agency’s intervention strategy that strives to address the issue of teenage pregnancy. It is the only project in the country which provides a comprehensive package of services for adolescent mothers and their families,” PDO Gianan told reporters at the Thursday Media Forum held at the DSWD Central Office’s New Press Center in Quezon City.
Piloted in 2023 and expanded in 2024, ProtecTEEN stands for Psychosocial Support and Other Interventions for Adolescent Mothers and their Families Project. It is the DSWD’s response to Executive Order 141, series of 2021, which declares the implementation of measures to address the root causes of the rising number of teenage pregnancies a ‘national priority.’
The ProtecTEEN is a psychosocial-centered support that focuses on the need to address the multi-faceted challenges adolescent mothers face and eventually help them get through their circumstances and become productive members of society.
“Yung mga adolescent mothers natin, pag nagbibigay na sila ng buhay sa mga bata, madalas hindi na naila maju-juggle yung responsibility bilang nanay, bilang anak, bilang estudyante, so yun po yung aspetong tinutugunan natin,” PDO Gianan told the members of the Media.
PDO Gianan said the initiative of the DSWD does not only benefit adolescent mothers aged 10 to 19, but also their partners, parents, children, and other household-members.
“So for ProtecTEEN, hindi lang yung adolescent mother yung target natin na beneficiary kasama po yung partner nila and also yung pamilya po nila mismo kasi we want them na ma-guide pa rin po yung mother,” PDO Gian said.
The total family approach enjoins their spouses, other household members become ‘empowered’ themselves to create a supportive atmosphere at home, and an enabling environment for shared, responsible parenting.
“We want to help them para hindi na maulit kumbaga kasi ang kadalasan na mangyayari po intergenerational concern. May mga clients kami na nagsasabi ‘ay yung tita ko po kasi ganyan din, yung nagpalaki sa akin ganyan din po sila, maaga nag-buntis. Nangyayari paulit ulit po yung problema, ayun yung gusto nating tugunan,” PDO Gianan explained.
Among the DSWD interventions to be provided for adolescent mothers are family healing sessions; family case management; employment, livelihood and educational assistance; capability building activities; and referrals to other government agencies or private organizations.
These forms of agency assistance are designed to ensure that their situation will not hinder their right to education, access to livelihood opportunities once they reach the right age and diminish their chance to straighten out their bad decisions.
“Hindi naman po porke’t nadapa sila o nagkaroon sila ng maling desisyon sa buhay, we still want to help them para makabangon, at makatulong sila sa sarili nilang pamilya. Hindi naman po natin sila pababayaan,” the STB project officer said.
PDO Gianan said the program aims to improve the capacity of teenage mothers to perform their duties as parents through the provision of direct social services and assistance, referral to other concerned agencies, and organizing peer advocates.
“Inclusive of this are the agency’s close collaboration with the healthcare sector to promote reproductive health services and other related interventions among targeted beneficiaries,” the STB project officer said.
