Manila, April 1 -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has assured the public that the processing of Minors Traveling Abroad (MTA) permits will remain operational to assist travelers during the Holy Week break from Maundy Thursday to Good Friday.

The DSWD's Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program is temporarily suspending its regular operations during this period and will resume on April 6.

"Due to the high demand of traffic caused by travelers going home to their provinces, the DSWD enforced a skeletal work environment in the Central Office. This includes the Centralized Processing Office of MTA and other operational services in DSWD. For our AICS program under the Crisis Intervention Program (...