Sara Duterte’s Office Claims DSWD Turned Down Assistance Request for ASF-Affected Group

Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s Office Accuses DSWD of Politicizing

SARA DUTERTE’S OFFICE – The Office of the Vice President claimed that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) turned down their request for aid for an African Swine Fever-affected group.

During the deliberation of the 2025 budget proposal of the office of Vice Pres. Duterte in the Senate, the Vice President got involved in a spar with Senator Risa Hontiveros. The heated exchange of statements came after the Senator noticed the similarities in the OVP assistance programs and the assistance programs of the other government agencies.

Duterte claimed that there is allegedly “politicizing” and the referrals from the OVP were allegedly rejected by the other government agencies so they crafted their own assistance programs.

Sen. Hontiveros said she will make a motion for the re-alignment of the assistance services funds to the relevant agencies. Afterwards, she asked about the P10 million budget allotted for the distribution of the book authored by Duterte which the Vice President addressed the move as “politicizing”.

Recently, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) spoke on the claim of Vice Pres. Duterte. Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s office claimed that the Department of Socia Welfare and Development (DSWD) turned down its referral.

According to OVP Director for Operations Norman Baloro, the DSWD allegedly declined the OVP request for assistance for a group of individuals affected by the African Swine Fever (ASF). The OVP Director said that the social welfare department denied the referral saying they do not do “mass payout”.

“The request was denied because the DSWD claimed that they cannot do ‘mass payout,’ and yet they are able to do it in other areas, together with other politicians,” the OVP said.

Based on the report, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s office added that some DSWD regional offices in Cebu, Negros, Siquijor, and Bohol have also not acted on the referrals made by their satellite offices. According to Baloro, the DSWD has not given a reason on the delay or inaction of the requests for assistance made by their office.

“To dismiss these unserved clients is to ignore the real challenges many Filipinos face in accessing social services,” Vice Pres. Sara Duterte’s office said in a statement.

The OVP further called on the Department of Social Welfare and Development for immediate actions on the assistance requests and to fulfill the responsibility of the government to provide assistance to every Filipino.