Officials and employees of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) have joined together to help raise funds for the country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

DSWD personnel in the Department’s Central and Regional offices responded to a memorandum issued by DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista calling for any voluntary contribution to be used for COVID-19 response.

A total of P4,035,000.00 has been raised from the bayanihan initiative. The amount committed was deducted from the May and June payroll of all the willing personnel.

The collected funds will be donated to Benguet General Hospital in La Trinidad, Benguet to help the medical facility respond to the needs of COVID-19 patients and its medical frontliners.

Secretary Bautista thanked all the Department’s personnel who, apart from working to deliver the  emergency cash subsidy under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) to low-income families most affected by the community quarantine, went beyond their jobs to extend additional aid through their voluntary contributions to those in need in the midst of the crisis.

The collective effort is part of DSWD’s continued commitment to contribute to the country’s pandemic response. It is also a way of the Department’s personnel to show solidarity, compassion, and dedicated service to the vulnerable sectors affected by the crisis. ###