As initial part of the special assessment of social pensioners not found in the database of poor household, the Listahanan or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development Cordillera Administrative Region (DSWD-CAR) is profiling every barangay in the region.
The barangay profiling includes the accomplishment of the Barangay/Community Characteristics (BCC) form which establishes the presence of different structures such as schools, commercial, and recreational establishments. It also profiles the area of economic activity within and outside the two-kilometer range of the barangay.
The BCC is among the few enhancements introduced from the first assessment conducted in 2009 with the inclusion of community variables in identifying poor households in the community. A specific weight is assigned on the barangay/community variables which are significant in the Proxy Means Test (PMT) model used in the targeting system,DSWD-CAR Listahanan Project Development Officer Lilia Rose A. Say-awen said.
PMT is a statistical model that approximates family income based on observable and verifiable non-income indicatorswhich has been found to be a good way of targeting the poor.
The respondent for the BCC should be an official of the barangay who can provide accurate information about the characteristics of the barangay and its neighboring barangays, hence, the respondent could be anyone from the Brgy. Chairman, Secretary up to the Kagawad, Say-awen added.
The special assessment targets households of indigent senior citizens who are endorsed by the Local Government Units and have received pension as of December 2013 but are not included in the Listahanan database of poor households. The assessment will assist in the resumption of the payment of stipends to social pensioners as required by the 2014 General Appropriations Act, Say-awen said.
Listahanan will assess around 3,826 social pensioners region wide which started this May 2014.
The special assessment of social pensioners is the first leg of the nationwide second round assessment of the Listahanan also slated this semester. DSWD-CAR, SOCIAL MARKETING UNIT, Kaye Ann O. Mapalo
