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Republic of the Philippines IS RECEIVED ".
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 9] 0 JUL 205
Quezon City =
TWENTIETH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

House Bill No. 1705

Introduced by Rep. ANGELO MARCOS BARBA
2" District, Ilocos Norte

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) is a community-based
capability-building program for poor, vulnerable, and marginalized
households and communities to help improve their socioeconomic conditions
through accessing and acquiring necessary assets to engage in and maintain
thriving livelihoods. This livelihood support measure would ensure that
current and exiting 4Ps households, Listahanan-identified poor households,
and other vulnerable, marginalized, and disadvantaged individuals and
sectors are able to access resources and establish micro and small scale
enterprises that could help support basic subsistence of the household (food,
shelter, education, and utilities) or secure a source of income through basic
employment. Through the DSWD-SLP, the Program empower and harness the
inherent entrepreneurial skills and potential of SLP participants, so that they
may be able to sustainably provide for themselves and to overcome their
present conditions.

The SLP of the DSWD is a progenitor program of the
Self-Employment Assistance Kaunlaran (SEA-K) Program. In 1996, DSWD
implemented the SEA-K Program for skills development. technical assistance,
and seed capital provision to enable the poor to have access to financial
services. The Program also seeks to establish community-based,
self-managed, and sustainable credit facilities to enable the poor, vulnerable,
and informal sectors to engage in income-generating activities. The SEA-K
remained the core financial assistance program of the DSWD until the early to
mid-2000s. However, due to the increasing demand for labor force and
employment, the need for a sustainable livelihood assistance was the prime
concern of the Department. Hence, the Administrative Order No. 11 series of
2011 was issued to formally introduce SLP with an expanded platform of
livelihood interventions.

As the Sustainable Livelihood Program progresses to be the core
program of DSWD for livelihood support interventions, the enhancement of
SLP Program design and guidelines was deemed necessary for the
implementers and stakeholders to adapt to the growing demand for
substantial and innovative interventions to better contribute to the attainment
of the DSWD's strategic goal of transitioning the poor, vulnerable and
marginalized from survival to self-sufficiency. The Department issued
Memorandum Circular No. 22 series of 2019 which laid down the



Comprehensive Guidelines on the Implementation of the Sustainable
Livelihood Program to strengthen and uphold the value of inclusivity of the
poor, marginalized, vulnerable and/or disadvantaged households to fully
participate in the country's growth and development.

Further, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department
issued Memorandum Circular No. 19 series of 2020 to enrich the livelihood
assistance of the Local Government Unit (LGU) to those that were affected by
the series of lockdowns, closures, disaster, and calamities by providing
emergency subsidies and recovery interventions such as the provision of
Livelihood Assistance Grant (LAG) to low-income families in the informal
sector whose livelihoods or jobs were affected. Currently, the SLP has a
Success Rate of 65.15% based on monitored SLP tracks — Employment
Facilitation and Microenterprise Development Track — and 95.44% Success
Rate for LAG on both Employment Facilitation and Microenterprise
Development Track as of May 2023. Lastly, the Program issued Memorandum
Circular No. 2 or the Special Guidelines on the Provision of Livelihood
Assistance to Families Affected by Disasters Through the Sustainable
Livelihood Program, this is to ensure that the Program covers those
households affected by natural and/or human-induced disasters.

The program aims to enhance the capabilities of poor Filipino
households and Individuals by harnessing their skills, competencies, abilities,
and resources in accessing income-generating opportunities to help improve
their socio-economic well-being. Truly, this program served as a safety net for
the poor households against the devastating impacts of the COVD-19
pandemic. It is reported that the number of poor Filipinos could increase by
5.5 million if there weren't any social protection programs or market
interventions that could provide livelihood development and_ basic
entrepreneurship support. This scenario of sliding back to poverty is especially
true for those 4Ps households exiting the program through natural attrition.

Through institutionalizing the DSWD SLP, the long term stability,
certainty, and availability of resources for the participants of SLP is assured,
thus increasing the opportunities for DSWD clients to avail of the livelihood
support and modalities provided by the Program as a means and strategy for
self-sufficiency and way out of poverty through microenterprise and/or
employment.

ANGELO ‘COS BARBA


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 1705

Introduced by Rep. ANGELO MARCOS BARBA
24 District, locos Norte

AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL
‘WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD
PROGRAM (DSWD-SLP)

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the
Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as “The DSWD
Sustainable Livelihood.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State shall promote
livelihood development and entrepreneurship as a means to achieve
sustainable development.

Pursuant to this policy, the State recognizes the need to alleviate the
socio-economic conditions of the poor and vulnerable, especially those
households enrolled in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, individuals,
groups, or communities who are classified as poor under the National
Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) Listahanan,
the Magna Carta of the Poor (RA 11291).

It is likewise the policy of the State to uplift the socio-economic conditions
of the poor and vulnerable through the provision of market intervention and
livelihood development through microenterprise development in facilitating
and supporting basic employment.

Towards this end, the State shall respect and strengthen Filipino
households, individuals, groups or communities by providing assistance that
may be utilized through such inherent skills to achieve positive livelihood
outcomes through community mobilization and community-driven enterprise
development.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. - For purpose of this Act, the
following terms are defined, as follows:

(a) Cash for Building Livelihood Assets Fund (CBLAF) shall refer
to an allowance or stipend provided to program participants who have
rendered work for labor-intensive projects to build, re-build, or


protect natural and physical assets necessary for more profitable,
self-sustaining, and resilient micro-enterprises;

(b) Certificate of Accreditation (COA) shall refer to a certification
issued by the Standards Unit (SU) of the Field Office (FO) to the
Sustainable Livelihood Program Association  'SLPA) after the
issuance of the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) by the SLP Regional
Program Management Office (SLP RPMO). The Certificate of
Accreditation shall be a requisite prior to the release of funds to the
SLPAs under the Micro-Enterprise Development Track;

(©) Certificate of Eligibility (COE) shall refer to a certification signed
by the Regional Program Coordinator of SLP Regional Program
Management Office certifying that the SLPA or Employment
Facilitation program participant/s have passed the eligibility
requirements and complied with the processes of SLP. The Certificate
of Eligibility is a requisite for the approval and obligation of the
Mungkahing Proyekto and shall be the basis of the SU of the Field
Office in issuing the Certificate of Accreditation to the SLPAs, EF
participants and individual referrals;

(d) Department shall refer to the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD);

(e) Employment Assistance Fund (EAF) shall refer to a grant
provided to program participants that will support a guaranteed
employment such as: 1) processing of employment documentary
requirements; 2) payment of medical tools and materials; and 4)
transportation allowance, meal allowance, and board and lodging
until the first 15 days of employment;

( Employment Facilitation (EF) shall refer to a track of the
Sustainable Livelihood Program that provides assistance to qualified
member/s of poor households who preferred employment rather than
engaging in micro-enterprise;

(g) Implementing Project Development Officer (IPDO) shall refer
to a Sustainable Livelihood Program staff of the Field Office
responsible for the organization and facilitation of opportunities of
program participants involving stakeholders within or outside the
city/municipality;

(h) Capacity Building Project Development Officer shall refer to
an SLP provincial staff responsible for ensuring that all the
capacity-building activities for the program participants are provided
accordingly. They are also responsible for monitoring and evaluating
the learning progress as well as the competency needs and gaps of the
SLP participants.

@ Micro-enterprise Development Track (MD Track) shall refer
to a track of the Sustainable Livelihood Program which focuses on the
establishment of micro-enterprise through the provision of financial


10)

capital, enhancement of skills, and building/re-building physical and
natural assets;

Monitoring Project Development Officer (MPDO) shall refer
to a Sustainable Livelihood Program field staff responsible for the
monitoring of the operationalization of the enterprises or employment
and progress of the SLP association throughout the program
monitoring period;

(k) National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction

(0)

(m)

@)

(0)

@)

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(NHTS-PR) shall refer to the information management system that
uses empirical methods to compile a database of who and where the
country's poor are. The NHTS-PR is also often referred to as the
“Listahanan";

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) shall refer to the
national poverty reduction strategy and a human capital investment
program that provides conditional cash transfer to poor households
for a maximum period of seven (7) years, to improve the health,
nutrition, and education aspect of their lives. The National Advisory
Council (NAC) may recommend a longer period under exceptional
circumstances;

Poor shall refer to individuals or families whose income falls below
the poverty threshold as defined by the National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA) and/or who cannot afford in a
sustained manner to provide their minimum basic needs of food,
health, education, housing, or other essential amenities of life, as
defined under Republic Act No, 8425, otherwgise known as the
"Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act";

Program Participants shall refer SLP associations, EF participants,
individual referrals, or other recipients of the modalities of assistance
provided by the Program;

Seed Capital Fund (SCF) shall refer to a start-up grant for SLP
association or individual, used to purchase small tools, raw materials,
and common service facilities such as machinery, equipment, and
plant needed in starting or expanding a micro-enterprise. The SCF is
only provided once per program participant;

Skills Training Fund for Micro-Enterprise Development
Track (STF-MD) shall refer to a grant that is used for the
acquisition of knowledge and skills needed in the management of the
micro-enterprise to be managed by the SLPA or its members;

Skills Training Fund for Employment Facilitation (STF-EF)
shall refer to a grant to be used for the acquisition of technical and
vocational knowledge and skills delivered in the form of orientations
and lectures, demonstrations, and other similar skills acquisition
methodologies for the participants. The grant covers the following
components: a) technical-vocational skills training fee; b) meal,


lodging, and transportation allowance; c) training supplies and
materials; and d) program participants’ assessment fee;

(x) System for Targeting of Beneficiaries shall refer to a system for
identifying who and where the poor households are through the
generation of a socio-economic database of poor households that is
adopted by national government agencies and implemented by the
DSWD;

(s) Sustainable Livelihood Program Association (SLPA) shall
refer to an association with 5-30 members organized by the DSWD,
through the SLP, which is issued with a Certificate of Accreditation
making them eligible recipients of assistance of Sustainable
Livelihood Program under the Micro-Enterprise Development Track;

(t) SLP-National Program Management Office (SLP-NPMO)
shall refer to an office of the DSWD Central Office responsible for
managing the implementation of SLP, setting the overall direction,
and issuing policies and guidelines, among others;

(a) SLP-Regional Program Management Office (SLP-RPMO)
shall refer to an office of the DSWD Field Office responsible for the
management of SLP at the regional level providing technical
assistance, supervision, and management of all SLP provincial offices.

SECTION 4. The Sustainable Livelihood Program. - The
Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) of the Department of Social Welfare
and Development (DSWD) is a livelihood capability-building program for the
identified poor, vulnerable, and marginalized households and communities
that provides assistance in the form of micro-enterprise development and
employment facilitation to qualified SLP program participants. This livelihood
assistance is to ensure that program participants are continuously capacitated
towards entrepreneurship, employment and association's self-governance in
order to have access to external resources such as additional credit, insurance,
capacity building, and market linkages.

SECTION 5. Modalities of Assistance. - The SLP shall have two (2)
major Tracks mainly: (i) Micro-Enterprise Development Track that provides
support for the establishment of micro-enterprise livelihoods; and (ii)
Employment Facilitation Track that provides support in securing and
maintaining gainful employment.

The following are the modalities under the Micro-Enterprise Development
(MD) Track:

a) Seed Capital Fund;
b) Skills Training Fund; and

c) Cash for Building Livelihood Assets Fund.


The following are the modalities under the Employment Facilitation (EF)
Track:

a) Employment Assistance Fund; and
b) Skills Training Fund.

SECTION 6. Eligibility Requirements. — Filipino households,
individuals, and those in disadvantaged communities or groups such as
Indigenous People (IP), Persons with Disabilities (PWD), and Solo Parent are
qualified program participants of the Sustainable Livelihood Program:
Provided, that the DSWD shall select qualified program participants of the
program using the National Household Targeting System for Poverty
Reduction (NHTS-PR) Listahanan: Provided further, that to be eligible to the
program, the qualifications of program participants must be followed:

a) Micro-Enterprise Development Track must be at least sixteen (16)
years old, with written legal consent from the parents or legal
guardians;

b)

Employment Facilitation Track must be at least eighteen (18) years
old upon employment, following legal employment standards;

©) Filipino families classified as poor under Republic Act 11291 otherwise
known as the Magna Carta of the Poor;

4) Classified as a poor household based on the system for targeting of
beneficiaries; and

e) The target program participants must be willing to comply with the
conditions stipulated in this Act and its Implementing Rules and
Regulations (IRR).

SECTION 7. Livelihood Sustainability Matrix. — The SLP shall
utilize as its main key result areas, the developed SLP Livelihood
Sustainability Matrix, wherein a graduated or tiered manner of providing
livelihood assistance grants, capability building activities, coaching and
mentoring, and technical assistance for livelihood development and
organizational building. The matrix includes a set of performance standard
indicators that pertains to the major aspect of livelihood development and
association management, mainly: 1.) Technical Operations; 2.) Financial
Strength; 3.) Organizational Development and Management; and 4.)
Community Impact. Served SLP participants shall be measured on the four
performance standards on an annual basis starting with Year 2
Implementation and shall be assessed through the use of annual assessment
tools, to establish viability of participants for additional grants and capacity
building through successive years.

SECTION 8. SLP Implementation Stages I Operational
Guidelines. - The SLP shall operate in a five (5) year cycle, mainly:


a) Year 1 Punla — the first round of implementation of the Program
and shall consist of the Pre-Implementation, Social Preparation,
Resource Mobilization, and Project Implementation;

b) Year 2 Usbong — shall consist of the monitoring activities, coaching
and mentoring, second round of capability building activities/
training. Under this Year, the SLP shall provide Product
Diversification and Development Grant.

©) Year 3 Sibol — shall consist of continuing monitoring activities,
capacity building, technical assistance, coaching and mentoring.
During this implementation year, the SLP shall provide Formalization
Support Grant to SLP associations and participants able and willing to
undergo formal government licensing and accreditation.

d) Year 4 Yabong — shall consist of continuing monitoring activities
capability building, coaching and mentoring, partnership building and
external linkages of SLP to regular markets and institutional partners.

e) Year 5 Ani — shall consist of the official graduation of SLP
associations that have achieved all the technical, financial,
organizational, and community impact indicators, from the Program.
Graduating SLP associations who have managed to sustain their
livelihood and association can be eligible for a SLP Graduation
Grants, subject to assessment and evaluation.

SECTION 9. Institutional Arrangements. — The DSWD shall serve
as the lead agency for Central Coordinating, Planning, Implementing, - and
Monitoring body on the program's overall management. The SLP National
Program Management Office (NPMO) shall have the steering and oversight
functions and tasks while the SLP Regional Program Management Office
(RPMO) shall take charge in the implementation of the program stages.

The Program shall assign Implementing Project Development Officers
that shall serve as the community facilitator who is responsible for identifying,
organizing, capacitating the new program participants and shall validate the
utilization of grants to ensure that the approved project has been duly
implemented. Provided that the field monitoring shall be conducted through
the Monitoring Project Development Officers that shall ensure that the
modalities of assistance are sustained by the participants through the conduct
of regular monitoring visits and assessments.

SECTION 10. Functions of the SLP National Program
Management Office (NPMO). - The DSWD SLP NPMO shall perform and
implement the following:

a) Enhancement and development of Program policies, tools, and
guidelines;

b) Setting of performance standards and compliance monitoring;

©) National program planning and coordination;


d) Human resource management and capacity building for national and
regional program personnel;

e) National program budget management;

£) National program monitoring and evaluation such as program
milestones, accomplishments, results monitoring, and evaluation of
program outcomes; and

g) Other related tasks as required and necessary for the management.

SECTION 11. Functions of the Regional Program Management
Office (RPMO). — The DSWD SLP RPMO shall perform and implement the
following:

a) Full implementation of the Program Stages based on the approved
process, timeline, and program implementation parameters:

b) Compliance to implementation standards and policies;

©) Beneficiary level monitoring and evaluation for technical assistance
and reporting;

4) Participation to human resource development and capacity-building
sessions;

e) Obligation and disbursement of funds; and
f) Regional, provincial, and city/municipality level coordination.

SECTION 12. Regular Program Monitoring, Reporting, and
Transparency. - The DSWD SLP NPMO and RPMO shall regularly monitor
the implementation of the program in order to ensure the attainment of the
goals enumerated in this Act. The Program shall annually publish a full report
of the SLP covering the implementation and accomplishments of the previous
fiscal year. The said report shall include the total number of households
served, physical ana financial accomplishments, notable achievements,
success stories, note-worthy capacity-building activities, and list of
recommendations on how to further enhance the implementation of the SLP
The report shall be published in the DSWD official website.

SECTION 13. Appropriations. - The amount necessary to carry out the
provisions of this Act shall be charged against those authorized in the current
and subsequent General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 14. Oversight Committee. — Upon the effectivity or this
‘Act, a Congressional Committee, hereafter referred to as the SLP's Oversight
Committee is hereby constituted. The Committee shall be composed of
members from the Committee on Poverty Alleviation, Committee on Labor
and Employment, and Committee on Social Services. The oversight committee
shall be chaired by the Chairperson of the Committee on Poverty Alleviation,
while the Chairperson of the Committee on Social Services shall serve as


co-chair of the committee. Additional composition of the oversight committee
shall be within the purview of the legislative body.

The Committee shall conduct periodic reviews to ensure the proper
implementation of this Act as regards the expenditures of the earmarked
funds, cost parameters of the modalities, accomplishments of the program,
and the performance of its implementing offices.

SECTION 15. Coverage. — Exiting 4Ps beneficiaries, individuals,
Filipino households, groups or communities Identified as poor by the National
Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) Listahanan
and Republic Act 11291, otherwise known as the Magna Carta of the Poor,
shall be covered as a program participant of the DSWD SLP. Moreover, the
SLP participants shall also cover households identified as poor based on the
system for targeting of beneficiaries used by the DSWD.

SECTION 16. Compliance to Republic Act No. 10713. - The DSWD
SLP shall comply with the provisions of R.A. No. 10713, otherwise known as
the Data Privacy Act of 2012. Additionally, the Program shall further comply
with the organizational, physical, technical and security measures prescribed
in the SLP Data Privacy Policy and Sharing Protocol Manual.

SECTION 17. Data Sharing. — Data sharing between government
agencies for the purpose of public function or provision of a public service
shall be covered by a data sharing agreement; Provided, that the DSWD SLP
shall comply with the provisions of Republic Act No. 10173 otherwise known
as the Data Privacy Act of 2012; Provided further, that all information filed
with the DSWD SLP, National Household Targeting System for Poverty
Reduction (NHTS-PR) Listahanan, and other database system used by the
DSWD SLP shall be made available to the stakeholders, institution,
government agencies, departments and non-government agencies, including
obligations to protect personal data and information.

SECTION 18. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within
twelve (12) months from the effectivity of this Act, the DSWD Secretary shall,
in coordination with appropriate government departments and agencies with
the participation of the local government units, promulgate the necessary
rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 19. Convergence of Programs and Services for
Livelihood Support. - Within the scope of social protection and national
poverty alleviation strategies, stakeholders such as other national government
agencies, the private sector, volunteer groups, and the academe, among
others, implementing multistakeholder programs and services for the poor
and vulnerable, shall converge and complement the modalities offered by the
DSWD SLP, Such convergence shall focus on the enhancement of operational
efficiency, provision of additional financing, access to resources, enhancement
of program modules and capability-building activities, and strengthening of
external partnerships and linkages.


SECTION 20. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is
declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions shall
not be affected and remain valid and subsisting.

SECTION 21. Repealing Clause. — Any law, presidential decree or
Issuance, executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or
regulation contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby
repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SECTION 22. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a two (2) newspapers of
general circulation.

Approved,