KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato (PIA) -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in the Soccsksargen region has started updating its “Listahanan,” or the “National Profile for the Poor,” to reassess and revalidate the beneficiaries of its flagship program, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
The reassessment is in line with DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian’s directive to determine the progress of households by measuring their “level of comfort” in terms of economic sufficiency and social adequacy.
“Ito po ‘yung resulta ‘nung pag-aaral ng ating central office, kung bakit maraming mga hindi napasok na dati nang kasali sa 4Ps sa Listahanan 3 [This is the result of the study of our central office that many of our 4Ps beneficiaries who were previously included in the 4Ps were not anymore included in Listahanan 3],” Sohra Guialel, chief of DSWD XII’s policy and plans division, said.
Sohra Guialel, chief of DSWD XII’s policy and plans division, talked about the special assessment of the agency's "Listahanan," or “National Profile for the Poor,” to ensure all indigent households in Soccsksargen are included in the 4Ps beneficiaries in an interview with PIA 12's Performing and Informing online program. (Photo: PIA Region 12)
The official further noted that the move aimed to clarify and simplify “issues” among the 4Ps beneficiaries as well as re-evaluate the processes and impact of the Listahanan.
“Para malinaw at mabigyan ng chance ang mga ito, nagbigay ng directive si Secretary Gatchalian na magconduct ng special assessment [To be clear and give them a chance, Secretary Gatchalian gave a directive to conduct a special assessment],” she told the Philippine Information Agency’s “Performing and Informing,” which is streamed on the PIA-12 regional Facebook page every Wednesday.
Guialel explained that the reassessment and validation will ensure that all poor households in the region have the chance to be included in the Listahanan 3 database as the basis for determining qualified beneficiaries for 4Ps.
It is the agency’s master list of poor Filipino households that will serve as the basis for the identification and selection of potential beneficiaries for various poverty alleviation and social protection programs, she explained.
She said that DSWD has already deployed field workers and enumerators in the municipalities and cities in the Soccsksargen region to immediately commence with the validation and assessment activities.
A DSWD enumerator visited the remote place of Brgy. Lamfugon, Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, to conduct household interviews with 4Ps beneficiaries in line with the agency's reassessment and validation of its master list dubbed Listahan, or “National Profile for the Poor.” (Photo courtesy of DSWD Region 12)
According to Guialel, the field workers will conduct household interviews to ensure that all information and updates about the 4Ps beneficiaries in the Listahanan 3 will be 100 percent accurate, saying that the outcome will also help them further gauge whether to deny or validate complaints as to why some of them were not included in the list.
“Titingnan po ulit kung ano ang rason kung bakit sila hindi nasali para masigurado natin na sila ay ma-cover kung sila ay dapat pa ma-cover, kaya may second round ng assessment. And after that, kung talagang sa criteria ay hindi na sila pasok [We will review again to determine the reason why they were not included and ensure that they are covered if they should be. That's why there is a second round of assessment. And after that, if they really do not meet the criteria, they won't be included] that’s the time na they will be permanently delisted from the program,” she pointed out.
The enumerators are expected to visit some 27,211 indigent households in the region for the reassessment activities.
Of the total number of 4Ps households to be assessed, 8,816 are based in Sultan Kudarat; 7,613 in North Cotabato; 6,425 in South Cotabato; and 4,357 in Sarangani.
The DSWD XII will also be in charge of the reassessment of 114,705 households in the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Maguindanao del Sur in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. (ORVR – PIA Region 12)
