Secretary Esperanza A. Icasas-Cabral of the Department of Social Welfare and Development was direct and spontaneous when she declared she had no ambition of running for senator in the 2010 elections.

Cabral, a doctor of medicine from the University of the Philippines, was responding to queries about her possible inclusion in the administration’s lineup for the Senate in the coming polls, as mentioned by some Malacañang officials.

“I am happy serving the public in this capacity as secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development,” she said, demurring that she did not feel equal to the demands of such high elective office.

Secretary Cabral, without doubt, is one of of the most respected members of the Arroyo Cabinet best known for her advocacies on health and public welfare, particularly of the very poor in society.

Her appearances on television and in the print media often portray her as a welcome purveyor of welfare services provided by a caring government: Definitely, Dra. Cabral is one the more credible spokespersons of the Arroyo government.

But regarding her possibility of getting into politics, she says she feels tired just thinking of how tedious it must be joining a national political campaign. She has just arrived from a long travel abroad as part of the presidential entourage that accompanied President Gloria Arroyo during her state visits to Japan and Brazil.

And to show she is focused on her task as DSWD secretary she says she is working on an enlarged program designed to enhance social protection to the poorest of the poor among Filipino families.

The poor and the disadvantaged groups among our people, she emphasized, badly need greater attention from the government.

Among her “big ticket” programs include conditional cash transfer or what she calls Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program; Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services: Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay; and the Self-Employment Assistance-Kaunlaran.

But these are only some of the long-range programs that Dr. Cabral is attending to at the moment for full implementation. She expects to institutionalize them for long-term support and maintenance.

For all that the DSWD is seeking a budget allocation of R25-billion for 2010 or some 142.17 percent increase from what the department got for the current year.

Publicly recognized as a top-rank physician, Dr. Cabral is past president of the Philippine Heart Association, former director of the Philippine Heart Center, and held consultancy positions at the Dangerous Drugs Board, the Bureau of Foods and Drugs, and the Department of Health, among others, before she was tapped for her present position in the Arroyo Cabinet.

Dra. Cabral is married to Dr. Bienvenido Cabral, an ophthalmologist, with three children.

Families flourish with time – and with a senator at that?
(zhern_218@yahoo.com)