QUEZON CITY -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development, as the Chair of the National Committee on the Filipino Family (NCFF), spearheaded the observance of the International Day of Families (IDF) through an online webinar to raise awareness of the importance of sustainable and family-friendly urban policies on May 16.

The IDF is annually observed every 15th of May following the United Nations General Assembly resolution in 1993. For this year, the international theme is “Families and Urbanization.”

The NCFF held the online webinar in line with the sub-theme, “Urbanisasyon at Pamilyang Pilipino: Magkaagapay sa Pagpapatibay at Pagpapaunlad ng Bansa.”

Atty. Edwin Bael from the Department of Migrant Workers and trauma consultant Mr. Roy Macaraig served as resource persons during the webinar. Atty. Bael discussed the salient points of Republic Act No. 11641 or the “Department of Migrant Workers Act” and explained the mandate of the agency in protecting the rights and welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers and their families.

Meanwhile, Mr. Macaraig, in his discussion entitled, “Mitigating the Psychological Impact of Urbanization on the Mental Health of Filipino Family”, provided an in-depth discussion on the impact of urbanization and the need to have a multi-sectoral and multi-agency approach to address the cultural factors that affect mental health. He also emphasized the urgency to effectively plan and implement improvements in the social protection programs of the government to provide greater opportunities for work as well as optimization of investment prospects both in urban and rural areas to lessen inequality and crime.

Significantly, Secretary Rolando Joselito D. Bautista during his remarks, highlighted the importance of sustainable urbanization amid the pandemic.

“According to the United Nations, urbanization is one of the most important megatrends shaping our world. It significantly affects the lives and well-being of families worldwide because it entails the concentration of people in a place perceived as having more resources than others. In relation to this, it is imperative to promote sustainable urbanization to be able to ensure equitable access to resources which are sensitive to the long-term health of human and ecological systems,” said Secretary Bautista.

The Secretary also pledged to continue to support the NCFF’s initiatives. He said, “The Department will work together with the NCFF and its regional counterparts to continue to strengthen and promote the family as the foundation of the nation. To do this, we need to invest in and promote the solidarity and total development of the families for the benefit of the Filipino nation.”

Also present in the activity are DSWD Undersecretary Luzviminda Ilagan, NCFF members from other national government agencies, non-government organizations, and family advocates.

The webinar was live streamed in the official DSWD Facebook account @dswdserves. (DSWD)