As part of the efforts to further improve the delivery of services to those in need, particularly under the Department of Social Welfare and Development – Field Office – Cordillera Administrative Region (DSWD FO CAR) – Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) Program and the Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP), the DSWD FO CAR, through its Crisis Intervention Section (CIS), recently gathered its network of partner Service Providers (SP) in a series of forums.

Dubbed as “Learning Conversations”, these activities focused on crafting strategies and finding solutions to challenges in the implementation of the AICS Program and the AKAP in the region together with the partner SPs.

Participants included officers and representatives from public and private hospitals, clinics, health centers, laboratories, and funeral parlors that cater to DSWD beneficiaries seeking medical and burial assistance.

During the separate sessions held in Ifugao on April 8, Kalinga on April 11, and Baguio-Benguet on April 14, the DSWD FO CAR was able to present the updates on the program policies and guidelines, to include documentary requirements and settling of financial obligations; discuss issues and concerns; identifying and addressing setbacks to the smooth and continuous provision of services to its clients; issue concessions on common findings and certain cases on the coverages for outright cash and Guarantee Letters; and streamline processes and protocols for easier and more efficient transactions.

Gracing the Baguio-Benguet leg, DSWD FO CAR Regional Director Maria A. Catbagan-Aplaten gave assurance to the stakeholders of the Agency’s sustained support towards mutual benefits between the partnerships in the shared commitment in delivering the programs’ aims.

“We in the DSWD thank our partners in their continual cooperation not only for the sake of the programs but more importantly for the beneficiaries,” she said.

To date, there are 110 Service Providers for health, medical, and funeral assistance across the region which have signed Memorandum of Agreements (MOA) with the DSWD FO CAR in delivering services under the AICS and AKAP. DSWD FO CAR, in close coordination with these businesses and institutions—private and government-affiliated alike—holds these talks twice a year in the different provinces of the region.