The Department of Social Welfare and Development clarifies difference between the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and the Listahanan Project after noticing apparent confusion from public.

The confusion stirred from the misinterpretation of the purpose of the currently being conducted household assessment by the Listahanan. The public misunderstood the assessment as registration to the country’s conditional cash transfer program, 4Ps, which is also implemented by the Department.

DSWD-9 OIC-Regional Director Fatima S. Caminan emphasized that the Listahanan is a project that determines who and where the poor are while the 4Ps is a program that invests in human capital by providing cash grants to beneficiaries for education and health.

“The Listahanan database is what we use as basis for identification of beneficiaries of social welfare programs and services not only of DSWD but also of other agencies. It does not provide any grants unlike the 4Ps,” OIC-Regional Director Caminan said.

Furthermore, the Department also clarifies that having been assessed by the Listahanan does not necessarily guarantee a family inclusion to 4Ps and other programs of the Department.

“It still depends if a family was found out to be poor and if they qualify to the program based on its guidelines,” OIC-RD Caminan added.

The Listahanan household assessment is anticipated to finish by the end of January this year. All households are targeted to be assessed including beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

145 enumerators went through a five-day orientation and training for the newly hired Listahanan field staff last week. The trainings were held simultaneously at La Azotea for Basilan Cluster and Garden Roof Deck for Sulu Cluster, at Garden Orchid Hotel, Zamboanga City.

Specifically, 56 came from Basilan and 89 from Sulu. Another batch of trainees for Basilan will be conducted on the second week of December, while two more batches will be trained from Sulu, also beginning next week.

During the five-day training, the participants were educated about the Listahanan project, their roles and responsibilities which include data-gathering through household interviews, and a mock assessment, among others were also part of the five-day training which aimed to prepare the participants before their deployment in their respective assigned provinces an municipalities,

All in all, 490 enumerators will be trained from the aforementioned provinces in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim in Mindanao (BARMM) to include the province of Tawi-Tawi as well, who will conduct house-to-house interviews to 352,894 target households. Of this number, Sulu has the biggest number of target at 193,826 households, followed by Basilan (81,386), and Tawi-Tawi (77,862).

Under the Executive Order No. 867 series of 2010, the assessment is conducted every four years to obtain the latest data on the demographic, socio-economic, and sectoral characteristics of poor households nationwide. The Listahanan database seeks to reduce the problems of leakage or inclusion of non-poor and at the same time, lessen exclusion or under-coverage of the poor in social protection programs. ###

The DSWD Field Office 9 officially started the assessment of households in all rural and urban areas in the provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Norte last week in order to update the list of the poor nationwide.

125,812 target households are expected to be assessed in Zamboanga Sibugay during the data-collection phase of Listahanan which will last for 45 days. Prior to the deployment of the field enumerators last Monday, the area coordinators and area supervisors were first sent out to the field to do some preparatory activities to include courtesy calls in the local government units (LGUs) and the identification of the “pockets of poverty” in urban areas, among others.

Specifically, seven (7) area coordinators, 35 area supervisors, and 175 enumerators are currently facilitating the household assessment in the said province.

Meanwhile, a total of 12 area coordinators, 35 area supervisors, and 291 enumerators both from Liloy and Dipolog clusters are assigned in Zamboanga del Norte who will be conducting house-to-house interviews to roughly 209,000 target households. In order to ensure the successful implementation of Listahanan 3, the field personnel shall guarantee that the data to be gathered from household respondents are complete, consistent, accurate, and collected according to the prescribed standards set forth by the National Household Targeting Office (NHTO).

Right now, the Listahanan 3 household assessment is being conducted in municipalities under Liloy Cluster. By next week, the Dipolog Cluster, shall also hold their first week of assessment.

Listahanan, also known as the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction, is an information management system that identifies who and where the poor are nationwide. It aims to establish a socio-economic database of the poor to be utilized by the national government agencies (NGAs) and other stakeholders as reference in identifying potential beneficiaries of their respective programs and services. ###

The DSWD Field Office 9 officially concluded the five-day training for enumerators in all of its clusters in Zamboanga Peninsula yesterday.

A total of 1,006 enumerators had to go through a five-day training in order to prepare them in the upcoming household assessment. The training, which was conducted simultaneously, began on November 11, while the final leg ended last week with Zamboanga and Pagadian’s third and last batches of enumerators.

291 enumerators (per province) will be assigned in Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur, while 218 will be deployed in Zamboanga City, 175 for Zamboanga Sibugay, and 31 for Isabela City.

The enumerators shall serve as the key persons who shall collect data on the ground. Reporting directly to the Area Supervisors, they are expected to maintain confidentiality of all documents, information, and other matters related to Listahanan. Particularly, they must ensure completeness, correctness, and accuracy of all accomplished Household Assessment Forms (HAFs) to be used during the data-collection activity.

Listahanan, also known as the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), is an information management system that identifies who and where the poor are nationwide. It aims to establish a socio-economic database of poor households to be used by national government agencies (NGAs) and other stakeholders as reference in the formulation and implementation of their respective social protection programs and services. ###

The Department of Social Welfare and Development recently recognized children beneficiaries across the country as national advocates of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or more popularly known as 4Ps.

During the Araw ng Kabataan held in Pasig City last November 23, 17 exemplary children were awarded as program advocates that will promote the gains and successes of the country’s conditional cash transfer program.

No less than the DSWD Assistant Secretary, Glenda Relova, together with the National Program Manager, Director Gemma B. Gabuya, presented the recognition to the children.

“We are so happy to see that the program continuous to nurture young and great minds in the hope that their families will soon escape the cycle of poverty. These Pantawid Pamilya children clearly have a bright future ahead,” DSWD ASec. Glenda Relova said.

Also present during the ceremony was Pasig City Mayor, Hon. Vico Sotto who gave salutation to the Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries in Pasig and vowed to support the program advocacies for its beneficiaries.

The Araw ng Kabataan served as the culminating activity of the National Children’s Month celebration. In line with this, the Department celebrated a week-long children’s congress from November 18-24, 2019 in San Juan City, Manila.

Approximately 94 children-beneficiaries of 4Ps from different provinces and cities in the country participated in the said congress including regional representatives from Zamboanga Peninsula.

This year’s theme was “Bata Para Sa Bata” emphasizing the role of children in defining a safe space for children in the community.

Pantawid Pamilya is a social protection program of the national government that invests in the health and education of poor households primarily of children aged 0-18 and pregnant women. Program beneficiaries receive cash grants as they comply with the program conditions applicable to their households. The conditions are: pregnant women must avail pre and post-natal care and be attended during childbirth by a trained health professional; parents must attend Family Development Sessions (FDS); 0-5 years old children must receive regular preventive health check-ups and vaccines; 6-14 years old children must receive deworming pills twice a year; and children beneficiaries (0-18 years old) must enroll in school and maintain a class attendance of at least 85% per month.

The DSWD Field Office 9 joined the 2019 Mindanao Communications Network (MCN) Serbisyo Caravan last October 24 at the Municipality of Leon B. Postigo.

The activity is inclined to President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order 70, “institutionalizing the whole-of-nation approach in attaining inclusive and sustainable peace, creating a National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, and directing the adoption of a National Peace Framework.”

With this, the department facilitated the feeding program which benefitted around 800 children.  In addition to this, the various sub-projects implemented by the agency through its Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) program were also presented during the activity.

The agency also conducted information dissemination to the residents of the municipality through face-to-face consultations and distribution of Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials.

Meanwhile, in line with the implementation of Listahanan 3, more than 30 copies of the Regional Profile of the Poor were also distributed to partner agencies as part of the advocacy activities of the field office in promoting the Listahanan database to end-users.

Other services provided during the serbisyo caravan were medical and dental mission, circumcision, and free haircut, among others. A number of school supplies and relief packs were also given.  Raffle draws were also initiated by MCN.. Almost 2,000 residents benefited from the whole-day activity.

The general objective of the caravan was to bring government closer to the public pursuant to the president’s EO 70. ###

In line with National Family Week Celebration, the Department of Social Welfare and Development gathered the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program in a 1-day activity which aimed to celebrate the values and successes of Filipino families.

The Family Day 2019 was held last October 06, 2019 at the Scout Limbaga, Pasonanca, Zamboanga City in partnership with the Local Government Unit and other program stakeholders.

Anchored on the theme “Kalusugan Pangkaisipan ng Pamilya Pilipino”, approximately 100 family beneficiaries from various barangays in Zamboanga City such as Canelar, Camino Nuevo, Pasonanca, and Sta. Maria joined in the festive merriment as a symbol of unity and promote camaraderie among DSWD staff and beneficiaries alike.

OIC-Regional Director of the DSWD IX, Fatima S. Caminan, personally delivered her message to the beneficiaries emphasizing their crucial role in nation building.

“Family is the smallest yet the strongest unit in the society. And we, in the DSWD, are very proud that most of our family beneficiaries show resiliency amidst hardships which means a lot because it tells us that they are willing to help the Department bring positive change in their lives,” Caminan said.

The event also served as an avenue for other partner-stakeholders of 4Ps to provide social services for the poor household beneficiaries such as medical and dental services from the Department of Health, livelihood training from TESDA, massage services from the Area Vocational and Rehabilitation Center III and other recreational activities from Mary Kay and Jollibee Foods Corporations.

The National Program Management Office of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program also held the same activity on September 29, 2019 which was participated by all of the regional Huwarang Pantawid Pamilya from across 17 regions in the country.

HAPPENINGS DURING THE FAMILY DAY

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office IX through the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) held its Partnership Forum in LM Metro Hotel, Zamboanga City on October 1, 2019.

Attended  by Participants from the different Government Agencies, Private Sector, and other institutional partners, the forum intends to provide updated and appropriate planned programs and services to be implemented for possible collaborative efforts and support from duly established partners and stakeholders for sustainable implementation in the community where the program implementers of Sustainable Livelihood Program work.

The Sustainable Livelihood Program is a capability-building program for poor, vulnerable and marginalized households and communities to improve their socio-economic conditions through accessing and acquiring necessary assets to engage in and maintain thriving livelihoods.

The activity also aims to ensure partnership and collaborative efforts in the implementation of developmental programs and services of the communities; To emphasize prioritization of Sustainable Livelihood Program Associations and SLP products in implementing partnership initiatives with the NGAs as mandated by the Central Office, and; To strengthen collaboration with National and Local partners in promoting and delivering employment opportunities, economic ventures and skills enhancement.

In his message, Regional Director Nestor B. Ramos underscored the importance of gathering the SLP stakeholders,  “Reducing poverty is not only responsibility of one sector, like national government but also includes private sector. We cannot achieve development on poorest of the poor without our partners.”

“We are inviting you in a hope of touching your heart in helping us reduce the poverty. I wish this forum of partnership will not only start today but also continue in the future. Let us continue to communicate with each other, look at how we can contribute to reduce poverty.” Director Ramos added