DUMAGUETE CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Negros Island is all set to close shop by the end of this month with regular employees returning to their mother units following the dissolution of the Negros Island Region (NIR).
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered last August 7 the abolition of the NIR or Region 18 through Executive Order No. 38 that revoked EO No. 38 signed by then President Benigno Simeon Aquino III for the NIR’s creation due to lack of funds.
The NIR was created on May 29, 2015 with the provinces of Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental forming the new region and departing from Regions 7 and 6, respectively.
Shalaine Lucero, the outgoing DSWD-NIR regional director, disclosed Thursday afternoon that all regional NIR offices were given 60 days or until September 30 to make the necessary arrangements to return to their mother regions.
Lucero, however, expressed gratitude and satisfaction that in the two years of existence in the NIR, the DSWD regional office had many accomplishments to speak of, particularly on the government’s programs and projects intended for the poor and the marginalized.
“We have served Negros Island well and we are so proud to say that in our first year of implementation in 2016, we had attained an outstanding rating from our central office,” Lucero said.
“And we’re just so happy that even with the short-lived region, I think majority of our part had established a very good relationship with the NGAs (non-government agencies), NGOs (non-government organizations), and the LGUs (local government units),” she added.
Lucero went on to say that even without the NIR, they want to maintain that kind of relationship with them because DSWD-NIR would not have delivered their services well if not for them.
The DSWD official stressed that they are happy to leave NIR with the thought that they have given the people their best.
The dissolution of the NIR will not impact much on the projects and programs of the DSWD in Negros Island because the agency has to ensure that the workers on the field will continue to deliver the programs.
The good thing about DSWD is that there is plenty of manpower on the field, especially in the LGUs, to ensure that the programs are implemented based on standards, according to Lucero.
While regular employees will be going back to their original assignments, it is unfortunate that job order employees of the DSWD-NIR will have to find other jobs after their contracts expire on September 30, she said.
She assured the public that despite the abolition of the NIR, DSWD will still be there to support the government’s efforts to address poverty. (PNA)
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