The head of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Dinky Soliman denied reports circulating online that the agency hides homeless people and street children from the streets of Manila due to the highly anticipated visit of world leaders during the APEC Summit.
DSWD Sec. Dinky Soliman clarified through and stated that “We don’t hide children and we don’t hide poor people.” she said.
According to earlier reports, homeless people were being taken off the streets of Metro Manila as part of preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit next week.
The last time that the DSWD Secretary was under fire was during the time when Pope Francis visit the Philippines, when some 100 homeless families were brought to a plush resort in Batangas province, ostensibly for a seminar, the DSWD Secretary also denied the allegations of hiding poor people and street children.
In a recent interview with DSWD Sec. Dinky Soliman she revealed that homeless people were among more than 4,000 families in the National Capital Region who were listed in the government’s modified conditional cash transfer (MCCT) program that the DSWD had been implementing for the last two years.
Sec. Soliman also corrected an earlier statement by Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo who said that homeless were given P3,000 to P4,000 each for them to leave the streets of Manila because of the Apec meeting.
