Being one of the fast growing municipalities in Lanao del Norte, the “Land of Beauty and Bounty” ,the municipality of Lala is a 1st class municipality with a population of 65,355 people in 13,725 households.
Despite the Local Government’s efforts in uplifting the economy of the municipality,it still ranked as the sixth highest in terms of magnitude of poor households, based on the 1st round assessment conducted in 2009 by NHTS-PR or Listahanan . A total of 8,292 households wer e assessed as poor.
Unemployment remains as one of the problems but through the Listahanan data, out of the identified unemployed individuals or households with unemployed members, 236 of them were endorsed for employment in various job opportunities from both projects of National Government Agencies and stakeholders within the locality.
This was made possible after the Local government Unit of Lala entered into a Memorandum of Agreeement with the Department of Social Welfare and Development in 2013.
Lala is also one of the municipalities in the region who willingly executed a MOA with the Department of Social Welfare and Development as a requisite for the sharing and utilization of the Listahanan data.
Prior to the access and utilization of Listahanan or NHTS-PR data by various LGUs, NGAs, CSOs, and different stakeholders, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) should be made and undertaken between the Dept. of Social Welfare and Development and the data user based on Administrative Order No.2 series of 2009. An approved Resolution by the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) also forms part as a support to the MOA in order to ensure the confidentiality and usability of the requested data for the purposes agreed upon and between DSWD.
The NHTSPR or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction or Listahanan is an information management system that the government use in identifying who and where the poor are and is being spearheaded by the Department of Social Welfare and Development. It aims to address poverty reduction through a scientific and target- focused strategy.
24.7% of the total number of households (34,315 households) assessed in the province who have no access to sanitary toilet are residents of Lala. Out of which , 200 households were provided with toilet bowls and other construction materials in order to address the problem. One hundred seventy households also benefited the potable water system project of the Local Government Unit of Lala.
The LGU officials are also looking into all the other sectors that needs to be given due attention based on the Listahanan data entrusted to them . For them , the data served as their guide in what programs and services need to be prioritized by the Local Government Unit of Lala. (Written by Mitzie S. Santiago.)