Marcos expands DSWD’s Pag-abot Program to include street dwellers, others

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has issued an executive order that calls for the expansion of the Pag-abot Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to benefit street dwellers and others.

EO 52 was issued on Thursday institutionalizing and expanding the said program to help street dwellers and other poor and vulnerable individuals get off the streets and be productive members of society, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said on Saturday.

“The Pag-abot Program is hereby institutionalized as a platform for an enhanced and unified delivery of services to vulnerable and disadvantaged children, individuals, and families in street situations, through provision of social safety nets and protection against risks brought about by poverty,” Marcos said.

The program offers packages that include transportation/relocation, financial assistance, transitory shelter assistance, livelihood assistance, and employment assistance.

It also offers psychosocial support, capability building of communities and local government units, as well as community assistance.

Under EO 52, an Inter-Agency Committee to be chaired by the DSWD secretary will be created and tasked “to ensure alignment with the objectives and complementation of activities of various government agencies,” the PCO said.

The Inter-Agency Committee will also have the secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government as vice-chair.

“The Pag-abot Program is one of DSWD’s pilot programs, which extends assistance to vulnerable and disadvantaged individuals, children, and families in street situations by providing various interventions and opportunities,” the PCO said. —KG, GMA Integrated News