THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) helped all referrals for assistance made by the office of Vice President Sara Duterte, Secretary Rex Gatchalian told senators yesterday during the agency’s briefing for its 2025 budget request.
The Vice President had previously said the DSWD rejected her office’s endorsements due to politics to justify her request for P1.909 billion for socio-economic programs, such as medical and burial assistance, disaster operations, food bags for families affected by disasters, and livelihood assistance.
On questioning of Sen. Imee Marcos, Gatchalian said all requests for assistance from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) were accommodated, which he said can be proven by the exchanges of text messages between the two agencies’ point persons.
“With me is Assistant Secretary Ulysees Aguilar. He’s the one that handles the referrals from the Office of the Vice President. Agad-agad kinausap niya ‘yung handling officer sa kabila, si Director Norman… kasi tinatanong namin sa kanya, ano ba ‘yung issue para alam namin ano ‘yung titignan (He immediately communicated with the handling officer from the OVP, who is Director Norman… we asked him what the issues were so we can readily address them),” Gatchalian said.
“In fact, ang sabi niya wala rin ho siyang alam kasi lahat naman ng referral daw nila ay malugod naming tinatanggap (He [Director Norman] told us that he could not tell what the issues were since we have gladly accommodated all of their referrals),” he added.
The OVP is asking for a P2.037 billion budget for next year. The House of Representatives had slashed by 63 percent the OVP’s budget and realigned its socio-economic funding request to the DSWD and the Department of Health.
It was Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros who first noted the P1.909 billion OVP budget request for socio-economic programs, such as medical and burial assistance, disaster operations, food bags for certain families, and livelihood assistance.
Hontiveros had said the funding could be realigned to agencies directly involved in the provision of social services to the people. The OVP, she said, can just refer all persons seeking their assistance to the proper office.
But Duterte, during the August budget hearing, said: “Kapag meron po kaming nire-refer o binibigyan ng endorsement sa DSWD, kadalasan ng sagot sa amin, hindi puwede, galing yan sa Office of the Vice President at kalaban ‘yan. Minsan po totoo ‘yan, napu-politika ang assistance para sa ating mga kababayan ((When we refer or give endorsements to the DSWD, we were often told that they cannot be allowed because it came from Office of the Vice President, it is an enemy. Sometimes it happens, that the assistance for our countrymen is politicized).”
But Gatchalian said the allegations are baseless, adding that he can provide the Senate copies of the screenshots of the text exchanges “but we have to ask permission from Director Norman if he will also consent.”
He also said the OVP has even awarded the DSWD with a plaque of recognition acknowledging it as its “valued partner.” He also promised to submit to the Senate a photo of the plaque.
“We’ll also submit to the committee a copy of the plaque that we just received middle part of this year from the OVP, saying nga that we are a valued partner, that we would always help their referrals
(We’ll also submit to the committee a copy of the plaque that we just received middle part of this year from the OVP, which says that we are a valued partner, that we would always help their referrals),” he said.
Marcos said she needed to put on record Gatchalian’s statement “to put the matter at rest and be clarified with the concerned.”
