PHILIPPINES. Country Report on the Updates of the 9 th ASEAN and Japan High Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies

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1 PHILIPPINES Country Report on the Updates of the 9 th ASEAN and Japan High Level Officials Meeting on Caring Societies The Government of the Philippines pursued among others the following recommendations: 1. Promote PPPP in providing a supportive environment for the vulnerable groups to optimize their potential. As part of the platform of His Excellency President Benigno S. Aquino III of Good Governance and Poverty Reduction, PPPP is among the key strategies adopted. For DSWD in particular, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is a system for cooperation between the two parties for the purpose of delivering basic social services to the poor, implementing developing projects of the Government and instituting transparency and accountability mechanisms to fight corruption. This may done in any of these four ways: (1) Bantay, or projects and activities geared towards fighting corruption; (2) Gabay, a mechanism for extending technical assistance; (3) Kaagapay, or anti-poverty projects and activities; or (4) Tulay, which refers to facilitating action, feedback and monitoring. The DSWD in implementing the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Philippines CCT Program) have engaged Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) along the public-private partnership theme Gabay, Bantay, Tulay at Kaagapay. Three hundred fifty six (356) NGOs, Faith-based groups and CSOs have a memorandum of agreement with the DSWD to support the implementation of the Pantawid Pamilya. More concretely, the CSO engagement under the framework of Bantay, Gabay, Tulay and Kaagapay are now into stronger partnership in terms of (1) conduct of family development sessions; (2) provision of literacy, livelihood, active citizenship and other support services for Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries under the monicker of FDS Plus; (3) engagement of CSOs on the conduct of massive updating and validation of beneficiaries and (4) CSO engagement on grievance redress system. Evidences of cross-sectoral collaborations are the convergence efforts with various NGAs, LGUs, and CSOs: a. Public works program employment for CCT beneficiaries b. College scholarships for children in CCT beneficiary households c. Free Birth Registration

2 d. Nurses deployment in far flung CCT areas with health supply side problems e. Support to farmer CCT beneficiaries f. Partnership with Civil Society Organization for livelihood and other support services g. PhilHealth Coverage for all Pantawid Beneficiaries The General Appropriation Act for FY 2012 has provided a budget amounting to P billion as Subsidy for Health Insurance Premium of Indigent Families Enrolled in the National Health Insurance Program under the Office of the Secretary of Health. It also provided in the special provision that it shall cover the National Government subsidy for health insurance premium of indigents under the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction of the DSWD. Since all Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program beneficiaries are included in the NHTS-PR list of poor households of the DSWD, they shall, therefore, be enrolled and provided coverage under of Philhealth. All Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries as Philhealth members including their qualified dependents are entitled to the following Philhealth benefits: A. Primary Care package B. All in patients and outpatients care services C. No Balance Billing policy which specifically states that no additional amount or expenses shall be charged or paid for by the member above and beyond the package rates to the Sponsored Member and/or their qualified dependents who: a. Are diagnosed with any of the 23 cases under case payment and admitted to non-private accommodation beds of the government hospitals; b. Have availed of outpatient surgeries, haemodialysis and radiotherapy in accredited non-hospital facilities including free-standing dialysis centers and ambulatory surgical clinics or those who utilized existing outpatient packages for TB-DOTS, Malaria, HIV/AIDS, and c. Have availed of services under the Maternal Care Packages (MCP) and Newborn Care Package in accredited non-hospital providers. D. In the absence of Philhealth ID card or member data record, the Pantawid Pamilya ID card can be presented to establish a member s eligibility to avail of PhilHealth benefits. E. For qualified dependents, supporting documents be presented to establish proof of eligibility. 2. Enhance the functional integration of the vulnerable people into communities, especially older persons and PWDs and other vulnerable groups, equitable access to opportunity and appropriate channelling of referral to services and treatment should be promoted.

3 The Pantawid Pamilya, KALAHI-CIDSS, PAMANA and Sustainable Livelihood Projects under DSWD and DOLE s Integrated Livelihood Program are proactive and deliberate interventions that enhance the functional integration of vulnerable people into the communities. The following vulnerable sectors targeted as beneficiaries are: a. Indigenous Peoples b. Displaced population due to natural disasters and armed conflict c. Vulnerable sectors such as farmers, fisher folks and upland people d. Children in need of Special Protection (Children with disabilities, Street Children, Children of Itinerant Indigenous Peoples, Children in Hazardous Occupation, Survivors of Human Trafficking, etc.) e. Solo Parents Livelihood programs and projects have been identified as among the most appropriate intervention for the vulnerable sectors and an integrated component of any poverty reduction program. The DOLE in particular has been implementing livelihood programs for the past twenty (20) years. From alone, more than 500,000 vulnerable and disadvantaged workers benefitted from the various livelihood programs of the DOLE. And, in the current Aquino administration, the DOLE s contribution to the national agenda of reducing poverty is the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP). DILP is aimed at promoting livelihood and entrepreneurship and transforming them into community enterprises through convergence of services. It envisions productive, gainful and secure community employment to disadvantaged and vulnerable workers in the informal economy. DILP also endeavors to transform the Philippine society so that every Filipino can enjoy a better and dignified quality of life, consistent with the national goals of inclusive growth, poverty alleviation and job creation. The Program caters to the following: Workers in informal economy engaged in small livelihood undertakings such as farmers, fisher folks, ambulant vendors or peddlers, ambulant service providers, vendors, tricycle or pedicab drivers and operators, among others. Disadvantaged/ unemployed workers especially to specific group of workers which include the agricultural workers (farmers, fisherfolks), youth (15-20) years old), women, persons w/ disability, indigenous people (IPs), parents of child laborers, and the elderly; Low-wage workers seeking to augment their income through the Workers Income Augmentation Program (WIN-AP); Returning OFWs and OFW Family Circles members; and Displaced Workers due to economic crisis and natural calamities/ disasters and armed conflicts through the DOLE Adjustment Measures Program (DOLE AMP).

4 The DOLE, through its regional, provincial and field offices, provides the following services: Acquisition of productive resources in the form of equipment, raw materials, tools and jigs that can be used by the eligible beneficiaries; Trainings, orientations and advisories on entrepreneurship development, business planning, productivity improvement, worker s safety and health, and networking and business alliances; Assistance in the establishment of common service facilities that will respond to the common needs of the beneficiaries and facilitate their access to more productive resources, low-cost inputs, wider market, and higher technology; and Advocacy in setting-up of self-help mechanism for social security among informal workers utilizing the established common service facility. For the vulnerable sectors affected by calamities, the DOLE provides short-term wage employment as immediate source of income for the beneficiaries and their families through placement in community works projects. Under this scheme, the project will be implemented by DOLE in partnership with the LGU. The DOLE shall shoulder the wages of the beneficiaries while the LGUs shall identify and engage the beneficiaries in their community-works projects and projects that will stimulate economic activities in the community. In DSWD, as a capability-building program of the Department under the convergence strategy, the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) complements to the growing needs of vulnerable groups access to livelihood programs especially for families living in hard to reach areas with limited local economic activities; or those involved in farming and fishing activities that are vulnerable to shocks. Vulnerable families are organized in associations and provided with non-collateral and non-interest capital seed fund (Php 10, per member with 25 to 30 members per association). This way, the Program builds their capacities to prepare them for accessing private financial products from MFIs and other formal lending institutions. Furthermore, they can also be linked to Business Development Service (BDS) providers for skills enhancement, technical assistance and additional capital for business enhancement and expansion. For those who are not inclined to entrepreneurial ventures, they are coursed through a job referral and network system to match them to locally available jobs that are appropriate to their skills and competencies. Technical and vocational skills training will be provided to bridge the gaps in available jobs and current skills of program participants. TESDA, DOLE, DPWH, DA, DOST, DENR and the private sector will also be tapped to provide the needed skills training of the poor beneficiaries. Another DSWD program that serves best the vulnerable groups is the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) or translated as Peaceful and Resilient Communities. This project is the Philippine Government s peace and development framework that aims

5 to strengthen peace-building, reconstruction, and development in conflict affected areas (CAAs). It is in line with the government s goal of putting a permanent and just closure to internal armed conflicts in the country. PAMANA is a multi-agency project, which includes the DSWD, Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Interior and Local Government, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), among others, and concerned local government units. PAMANA program emphasizes the convergence of efforts in the delivery of basic social services; good governance through responsive, transparent and accountable resource allocation and utilization; community empowerment to enhance local demand of services conflict-affected barangays; and asset reform, to address age-old issues of agrarian unrest and encroachment and unimpeded exploitation of ancestral domain and natural resources. Following the framework, PAMANA aims to reduce poverty and vulnerability through community infrastructure, improve governance through partnerships with national and local institutions, and empower communities to address issues of vulnerability and peace through activities that promote social cohesion 1. The Department of Health, recognizing the increasing proportion of older persons which is expected to increase further, recognizes the increase in the demand for their health services. Laws and policies were developed with mechanisms to provide them with quality of life. RA 9257 or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2003 (predecessor of RA 9994) as stated, DOH shall provide for the expansion of coverage of benefits and privileges that the elderly may acquire, including medically necessary services. Parallel to this objective is the Department s desire to provide affordable and quality health services to the marginalized population, especially the elderly, without impeding currently pursued objectives and alongside health systems reform. One of the provisions of RA 9994 or the Expanded Senior Citizens act of 2010 is for the DOH to administer free vaccination against the influenza virus and pneumococcal diseases for indigent senior citizens. The DOH in coordination with local government units (LGUs), NGOs and POs for senior citizens shall institute a national health program and shall provide an integrated health service for senior citizens. It shall train community based health workers among senior citizens health personnel to specialize in the geriatric care and health problems of senior citizens. 1 Source: DSWD news article. A Secure Home through Pamana. Retrieved at