DSWD-9 bares 2015 Listahanan results of ZamPen

By:Emmanuel D. Taghoy

ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-9  launched yesterday the 2015 “Listahanan” database of poor families in Zamboanga Peninsula region at the Grand Astoria Hotel, this city.

The event, dubbed as “Tuloy and Pagbabago” was attended by local chief executives from the different cities and towns of the three provinces in the region, national government offices, media and other stakeholders.

Also known as National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), the Listahanan is a comprehensive database of households, zooming on those below the poverty threshold that primarily need to be given social protection programs and services.

DSWD Regional Director Atty. Araceli F. Solamillo reported that for the 2015 Listahanan, about 364,723 poor households were identified out of the 704,872 households assessed in Region 9.

Zamboanga del Sur province listed the most number of poor households with 165,485; followed by Zamboanga del Norte with 119,493; then Zamboanga Sibugay - 68,671; and Isabela City, Basilan province with 11,074.

Results also showed that some 31.16 percent or 113,644 poor households identified belong to the Indigenous Peoples’ group. Highest magnitude of IPs are found in the provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay with 78.22 percent and Zamboanga del Sur with 77.52 percent.

Aside from the profile of each household, Listahanan also offers other important facts or demographics such as how many of the individuals in the identified poor households are children, senior citizens, out-of-school youths, employed or unemployed or how many of them are persons with disabilities.

General statistics on the 2015 Listahanan can be retrieved from the DSWD-9. However, to access the database, a memorandum of agreement with DSWD and the requesting government agency, local government unit, private institution, non-government organization or civil society organization, is needed to identify the purpose where it will be used and for better monitoring.

DSWD Undersecretary Florita R. Villar, the keynote speaker of the event, highlighted the importance of the Listahanan database for the continuing delivery of social protection services and for bringing in new poverty reduction programs and policies, especially with the new administration coming in.

Villar emphasized that no single government agency or program alone can address the country’s poverty concern. Thus, she called for continued convergence of efforts among all stakeholders.