The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office 10 (Northern Mindanao) has taken custody of 17 senior citizens and persons with disabilities who were rescued from an unregistered care facility in Maramag town in Bukidnon.
The rescue operation was conducted by the DSWD together with concerned authorities last Oct. 11 upon receiving information that the Bukidnon Multi-Sectoral Services Foundation Incorporated was reported to be unsafe and unsanitary, a risk to the clients’ health and well-being.
‘Apart from being unregistered, the facility was found to be in a substandard state that compromises the safety of residents. Authorities immediately conducted a rescue operation to ensure the safety of their clients,’ Assistant Secretary Juan Carlo Marquez said in a statement on Wednesday.
The DSWD co-spokesperson said the Bukidnon residential facility did not have the appropriate registration to function as a social welfare and development agency (SWDA) based on a visit and inspection by the DSWD Northern Mindanao field office in February and April this year.
The facility violated the need for hygienic toilets and sleeping quarters, including the absence of safety standards.
It also lacks a case management system, proper documentation of client-residents, and qualified caregivers.
The 17 rescued residents are now under the temporary custody of DSWD-managed facilities, while some were transferred to local residential centers that can better take care of them.
Under Republic Act 10847, the DSWD is mandated to issue a registration, license to operate, and an accreditation certificate to facilities applying to operate as a social welfare and development care facility.
This regulatory function of the DSWD ensures that facilities implement social welfare programs according to quality standards.
‘This is why the DSWD is currently conducting monitoring visits to registered and licensed SWDAs to ensure compliance with standards,’ Marquez said.
The DSWD likewise reaches out to facilities without registration and license to operate to provide technical assistance and offering them the opportunity to comply.
‘As instructed by DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian, we boosted our monitoring activities for the SWDAs. This is not meant to police their operations or find fault, but to ensure that the elderly, children, persons with disabilities that they are committed to serve are indeed well cared for,’ Marquez said.