DSWD-8 Distributes Toolkits to 500 Frontline Workers Across Eastern Visayas

TACLOBAN CITY — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office VIII distributed specialized toolkits to frontline workers in Eastern Visayas to improve the delivery of social protection services to families.

The two-day distribution on December 26-27, 2025, reached close to 500 municipal and city field workers who serve as the direct connection between the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and the households enrolled in the program. The kits are intended to improve the conduct of Family Development Sessions (FDS), a core requirement for 4Ps beneficiaries.

The kits mean more to the staff who directly interact with the community than just additional supplies. They are tools that aim to make community discussions clearer, more engaging, and more responsive to the families’ needs.

The distribution took place simultaneously on December 26 in the provinces of Southern Leyte, Biliran, Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar, ensuring that field implementers in even the most remote areas received the materials promptly.

National Program Manager Director Gemma B. Gabuya led the activity in Leyte on December 27. The agency was represented at the event by Deputy Program Manager Jonathan C. Anteza and OICAssistant Regional Director for Operations Leila E. Auditor, who were also part of the activity. The presence of top leaders at the event is the agency’s way of showing that it highly values the initiative.

Each FDS Kit and Care Kit is equipped with simple yet necessary items such as manila paper, index cards, bond paper, coloring materials, and board markers. The DSWD explained that these materials are for making family development sessions more lively and engaging through the use of visual and participatory methods rather than traditional lecture, based discussions.

Through the use of visual and hands, on tools, City and Municipal Links can more effectively conduct sessions on topics such as responsible parenthood, child welfare and protection, health and nutrition, and other social development issues that concern families.

The distribution of the kits, as quoted by the DSWD Field Office VIII, reflects the agency’s commitment to empowering the frontliners who are recognized as the main facilitators that can capacitate families to understand and make the best use of the 4Ps program. By providing field staff with the best learning tools, the agency is setting the stage for quality community education and engagement that will result in a significant improvement in the local implementation of the program.

Division Chief Paula B. Unay, Provincial Links, and other personnel also actively participated in the distribution, signaling a well-coordinated effort from the region to intensify the delivery of social protection services.

The department sees the program as a vehicle to bring 4Ps beneficiaries into the fold of knowledge, making them more capable and the Family Development Sessions more effective as a tool in the agency’s commitment to serving less fortunate families in Eastern.  

(Photo courtesy: DSWD Regional Office 8)