MANILA, Philippines – What is the government doing for the Filipino family?

For former Quezon City representative Dante Liban, it’s time for government to focus on the Filipino family, and one way to do this is to establish a Department of Families, Seniors, Women, Youth, and Children.

Asked how this is different from the current Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Liban said he is not inventing this proposal as other governments outside the country already have a department dedicated to the family.

Besides, his proposal will actually be an improvement of the DSWD, he said on Friday, April 22, at the third leg of Rappler’s senatorial debates held at the FEU Institute of Technology in Manila.

He proposes creating specialized sub-departments on family, on youth and children, and on women “para lahat yan focused, hindi ‘pag may problema, maghahanap sinong pwedeng sumagot (so all of it would be focused, and not just look for someone who can address it when there’s a problem already).”

“The time has come. We have a constitutional mandate, but government has not done anything about it. I’ll see to it that a law will be passed to help this new department,” Liban said.

Liban said it’s also the government’s duty to come up with programs and projects that will reunite families of overseas Filipino workers to have to work abroad to provide for their families. He also wants the government to look into the growing problem of senior citizens being abandoned by their families in the country.

“We should promote the Filipino family, protect the Filipino family, and strengthen the Filipino family,” he added. – Rappler.com