Zamboanga City – 3/24/2014- A total of 200 participants all over Zamboanga Peninsula attended the orientation on Listahanan in preparation for the 2nd round nationwide household assessment.

The orientation conducted by The National Household Targeting Unit (NHTU) or Listahanan of the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Field Office IX was done from March 10 to 21, 2014. Participants include Local Chief Executives, Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officers and Municipal Planning and Development Coordinators of the different municipalities and cities in the region.

The series of orientation kicked off at Pagadian Bay Plaza Hotel for Zamboanga del Sur participants, followed at Dipolog City’s Bamboo Garden Hotel for Zamboanga del Norte-Batch 1 and JKC Hotel in Liloy for Zamboanga del Norte-Batch 2 participants respectively. The last leg of the orientation was conducted at Roderic’s Resort in Ipil for cities of Zamboanga and Isabela to include all municipalities under Zamboanga Sibugay.

“Allow me to express our sincerest gratitude in behalf our Regional Director for attending this affair. Please deliver this message of thanks to your local chief executives for bringing you here today.” said Mr.Al-Raschid K. Nandu, Regional Field Coordinator for Listahanan Region IX, as he conveys his message of appreciation before the participants. Some Municipal Mayors of Kumalarang, Sibutan,Dinas, Tukuran, Mutia, Magasalay and Sergio Osmena also showed support by gracing the event.

Mr. Nandu underscored the importance of the Local Government Units in the implementation of the said project. He further discussed that the purpose of the orientation was to enlighten LGUs on the next family assessment, likewise to verbalize their duties and functions in the implementation such as to provide the department with municipality spot map, fare matrix and assistance in identifying pockets of poverty in urban areas. He also added the need to advance for the support of partners, data users particularly the Local Government Units (LGUs) as they will become the front-liners in the area during the conduct of the assessment.

The said orientation covered significant and comprehensive topics which catered the needs for information and knowledge of the participants. Resource speakers were Listahanan’s Focal Person for Region IX Mr. Hassan B. Alfad, Mr. Al-Raschid K. Nandu, Regional Field Coordinator for Listahahan Region IX and Mr. Ivan Eric Salvador, Information Officer for Listahanan

The scope of the orientation presented topics that seek to strengthen the recall and appeal of Listahanan to its stakeholders as the new brand of NHTS-PR discussing its objectives and legal bases. It also highlights its importance and further advocates the utilization of the generated data for identifying clients of poverty reduction and social protection programs. Presentation on the Proxy Means Test, Project Cycle, Encoding System, Social Marketing, Regional Profile of the Poor, Data Sharing Protocols and MOA were also delivered to them.

National Project Coordinators’ Ms. Maria Antonette Lucero and Mr. Euberto Gregorio of the Listahanan -National Project Management Office (NPMO) also joined the NHTU staff in the conduct of the said orientation. They discussed policies, plans, procedures and system for the upcoming assessment. Some of the updates presented are increase in ratio of Enumerators to Area Supervisor and Area Supervisors to Area Coordinators. Accordingly, this is done to ensure that there will be an intensified compliance in the monitoring of the field staff. There will be also increased of targets in the pockets of poverty while the receipt of On-Demand Applications is dispensed to open greater opportunities to participate in the validation process. In terms of assessment tools, Listahanan shall continue to use the Proxy Means Test-a statistical model that approximates family income based on observable and verifiable proxy indicators in the Family Asssesment Forms or FAFs while an additional tool called Barangay Community Characteristics (BCC) form will be used to collect community information such as street patterns, presence of commercial establishments and recreational facilities, among others affecting economic activities of the families in the barangay.

Special validation  for Social Pension and Modified Conditional Cash Transfer for Families in Need of Special Protection (MCCT-FNSP) were also announced.

Region IX will have a total assessment coverage of 688,495 thousand households both from rural and urban areas per following breakdown: Dapitan City (15,025 Households); Dipolog City (22,917 households) ; Isabela City (21,250 households); Pagadian City (37,083 households); Zamboanga City (149,253 households) ; Zamboanga del Norte (161,215 households); Zamboanga del Sur (162,113 households) and Zamboanga Sibugay ( 119, 639 households). It shall be implemented in 4 provinces, 5 cities and 67 municipalities around the region.

DSWD is looking forward for the conduct of 2nd Nationwide Household Assessment in the 2nd quarter of the year in full swing. ##