The Department of Social Welfare and Development through the Listahanan /NHTSPR  (National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction) has been conducting the Second Round Assessment validation in Northern Mindanao for a month since November of this year.

Over 18,938 complaints on exclusion have been filed and recommended for resolution.

With the province of Lanao del Norte having the highest number of exclusion complaints, DSWD workers  comprising the Area Supervisors and Enumerators are still on field conducting re-assessments and doing the consolidation of reports  in preparation for the end of the validation phase.

The validation phase was conducted with the posting of the initial lists of poor households in strategic locations in the barangays for the people in the communities to provide feedback . It was also in this phase when families who were not yet visited by the enumerators were given the chance to appeal, be assessed and  lodge on their complaints and grievances to the Local Verification Committee (LVC).

Local Verification Committees composed of the Local Chief Executives, local social welfare and development offices and planning officers , and representatives from Civil Society Organizations  were organized to assist in the  resolution of complaints and appeals.

Complaints on household assessments with incorrect information in the Listahanan database ranked second highest with a total of 15,982 complaints  lodged in the whole region.

To date, DSWD have been consolidating  complaints acted upon for the whole duration of the validation.

Local Verification Committees in the Local Government Units  have been actively involved in the  validation process  by acting on the complaints  through their resolutions and recommendations.

As part of the validation process,complainants have been informed and updated on the status of their complaints  and the resolutions made by the Local Verification Committees in their locality.

It is expected that after the validation, an accurate listing of poor households who will be the potential beneficiaries of social protection programs and services of government and non-government institutions will be generated and finalized.

 

 

Written by Mitzie Santiago, DSWD