Woman who crawled out of canal not given special treatment, says DSWD

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Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian says the P80,000 cash aid for the woman is part of the DSWD's Pag-abot Program, and social workers will monitor her progress in putting up a sari-sari store

MANILA, Philippines – The woman who went viral after being caught on camera crawling out of a canal in Makati was not given special treatment when she was granted P80,000 by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the department explained on Monday, June 2.

The DSWD earlier disclosed that it was set to give P80,000 in aid to the woman they called “Rose” to start up a sari-sari (general merchandise) store business. It quickly became controversial — some social media users said the move may encourage Filipinos to be lazy, while others made jokes about getting their photo taken at a canal to also receive cash.

But in an interview with DZMM Teleradyo on Monday, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said that the aid given to Rose was part of the Pag-Abot Program, which has been around since 2023 and has helped thousands of other street dwellers.

“The P80,000 did not come from thin air, but rather it came from a set of guidelines, like all our programs here in the DSWD. There were guidelines, and all that went through the careful review of social workers before the amount to be given is determined,” he said.

Assessment

Gatchalian said that when he took on his position as DSWD chief in 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s marching order was to make sure that no Filipino has to live on the streets.

Coming from a background of local politics, Gatchalian said he understood that local government units have limited capacity to implement social welfare programs. The DSWD partnered with LGUs to create the Pag-Abot Program, where over 1,000 social workers patrol Metro Manila to reach out to street dwellers 24/7 and convince them to come in for an interview on possible intervention.

During interviews, social workers ask about the street dwellers’ skill sets and their stories, and assess if there are certain circumstances that point to the possibility of them not being able to handle money well.

The DSWD earlier said that a sari-sari store was Rose’s choice for where to use the money. The amount is not set in stone, and not given in one go. It is released in tranches as social workers monitor the progress of the beneficiary’s business project — in this case, Rose’s progress in building her sari-sari store.

“I beg to disagree with the notion that [Rose] was made special because there was media mileage. The guidelines… have been published since 2023. They were not formed suddenly because of this viral case,” he said.

Gatchalian said that around 5,000 families in street situations became beneficiaries of the Pag-Abot program since it was created. – Rappler.com