With the goal of addressing the teenage pregnancy concerns in the country, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has implemented the ProtecTEEN Program with the aim of protecting the rights, and providing support to adolescent mothers and their families.

Having been piloted in Malaybalay, Bukidnon; Antipolo City, Rizal; and Malabon City, Metro Manila in 2022, the said social welfare intervention strategy will now be cascaded in Caraga, with the Municiplality of Socorro, Surigao del Norte as the first partner for engagement.

With this, the DSWD Field Office Caraga conducted a Technical Assistance Session, headed by Dianne M. Gianan, Project Development Officer III of the Social Technology Bureau from the DSWD Central Office, on August 8, 2024 at the DSWD FO Caraga Conference Hall. The said activity was also attended by DSWD Field Office Assistant Regional Director for Operations Jean Paul Parajes, ProtecTEEN Field Office Technical Staff, representatives from the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM), and the Municipality of Socorro (Municipal Administrator and MSWDO).

Gianan discussed the program’s overview/module and the statistical overview of teenage pregnancy in the country. The ProtecTEEN Program is DSWD’s response to Executive Order No. 141, series of 2021, entitled, “Adopting as a National Priority the Implementation of Measures to Address the Root Causes of the Rising Number of Teenage Pregnancies, and Mobilizing Government Agencies for the Purpose.” It is part of the Social Protection Program for Adolescent Mothers and Their Children (SPPAMC).

The program is implemented by the Department with the purpose of providing psychosocial support, skills development, and other services to teenage mothers with the aim of empowering them and eventually helping to break the cycle of poverty that’s linked with early pregnancy.

Primary target beneficiaries of the program, through its different services, are adolescent mothers ages 10-19 years old, and will also cover their spouses/partners, their children, parents, and other household members. Meanwhile, the program also provides Technical Assistance and Resource Augmentation (TARA) to the Local Government Units (LGU) as they too will be implementing the program.

With this, Field Office will continue to engage with its partners, especially the LGU of Socorro, as it gears to implement the program. As of the moment, the DSWD Field Office Caraga will be coordinating with other LGUs as it prepares for the expansion of the program’s implementation.