Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian meets on Thursday (January 30) with key officials of the Asian Development Bank (ADB),led by Vice President Scott Morris of the East and Southeast Asia department, to discuss ongoing collaboration and future areas of partnership.

The DSWD-ADB meeting held at The Tropics, McArthur Park in Palo, Leyte, also served as a prelude to the series of monitoring and familiarization visits to be conducted by both agencies to the ADB-funded projects in the Municipality of Tanauan in Leyte, including those intended for the rehabilitation and recovery of communities that bore the brunt of Typhoon ‘Yolanda’ (International name: Haiyan) in 2013.

The DSWD officials present in the meeting were Undersecretary Monina Josefina Romualdez of the Operations Group; Director Bernadette Mapue-Joaquin of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS); and Regional Director Grace Subong Field Office (FO) 8 – Eastern Visayas.

The ADB officials who joined the activity were Country Director Pavit Ramachandran; Principal Country Specialist Christina Lozano, and Country Operations Head Alain Morel. (LSJ)