Media partners of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Northern Mindanao recently participated in a media tour in Lanao del Norte.
The said activity was aimed at giving the media the opportunity to witness actual household assessment conducted by Listahanan or the NHTS-PR (NationalHousehold Targetting System for Poverty Reduction.
Area chosen for the actual field visit was Barangay Pigcarangan, one of the barangays in the municipality with the highest rate of poverty incidence.
The province of Lanao del Norte had the highest inclusion and exclusion error rating during the First Round Assessment way back 2009.
Based on the 2009 assessment, 94,007 households were identified as poor putting the province second with the highest number of poor households identified in the whole region of Northern Mindanao, with a percentage share of 27.8% in the regional profile of poor households.
Participants of the media tour were able to observe and interview field workers, Local Government Officials, residents assessed and residing in the areas visited.
In a forum with Pantawid beneficiaries, Assistant Regional Director for Operations Aldersey Mumar dela Cruz stressed the importance of the conduct of the assessment and urged them to support and cooperate in the conduct of the household assessments. She also encouraged them to advocate to their fellow barangay residents who are non-Pantawid beneficiaries the significance of the conduct of the assessment.
To date,Second Round Assessment is ongoing for the whole province of Lanao del Norte and the rest of the four provinces in Northern Mindanao .
Listahanan or the National Household Targetting System is an information management system that the government uses in identifying who and where the poor are.
It aims to provide a database and basis for National Government Agencies , Local Government Units,Civil Society Organizations and othe. legitimate stakeholders for potential beneficiaries of their various social development programs and services.
The media tour was successfully conducted with the full support of Lanao del Norte Gov. Khalid Q. Dimaporo and Mayor Nelieta Noval of the municipality of Tubod.
Written by Mitzie Santiago,DSWD