DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) for the Urban Poor in Brgy. Payatas, Quezon City: Towards an Enhanced Policy

The National Government of the Philippines has implemented various poverty-alleviating programs, such as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP), administered by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). However, despite these efforts by the government, the issue of poverty remains. While previous studies have provided analysis on the program implementation, there still persists a knowledge gap on this topic. Thus, this study applies the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework by Scoones (1998), aiming to understand the need to recognize the significant roles played by the vulnerability context of the urban poor, their livelihood assets, the presence of structures and processes, and livelihood strategies in improving the livelihood conditions of the urban poor. The quantitative and qualitative aspects of this paper revealed the importance of incorporating and understanding how the variables present in this study contribute to the goal of the program. While these findings may be limited in scope, they present several policy implications, suggesting the need to streamline implementation guidelines, reinforcement of collaboration efforts with interrelated agencies, alignment with urban livelihood realities, and fostering connections with the target participants and private organizations to ensure operational efficiency and better public service delivery. This study contributes not only to ensuring the successful implementation of the program but also to the existing gap in studies grounded in DSWD’s Sustainable Livelihood Program.