DSWD establishes data on poor families

CEBU, Philippines - Poor families in poverty-stricken areas who are not yet in the government’s list may now “apply” to be included in the social welfare department’s National Household Targeting System for Poverty Alleviation Project (NHTS-PR).

Applying for the “assessment” is crucial for indigent families as the database will be used for projects.

Executive Order No 687 dated March 2010 directs all National Government agencies to adopt the NHTS-PR project as a mechanism in identifying “who and where the poor households are,” since they will be recipients of social protection programs nationwide.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Central Visayas already conducted an assessment from April 2009 to March 2010. The assessment identified families whose places of residence are identified as within the target areas to be included in the database.

The DSWD distributed flyers and posters to ensure that the projects will be known among families in target local government units.

The DSWD cited statistics from the National Statistics and Coordination Board, which showed that poverty incidence rose from 10.2 percent in 2003 to 11 percent in 2006, which is equivalent to 1.9 million families who could not meet their basic requirements.

As the lead agency in providing social services and promoting the welfare of the poor and disadvantaged families, the DSWD is implementing the “targeting system” for specific programs and projects.

The targeting system starts with the establishment of a socio-economic data of households so target beneficiaries can be identified efficiently. This way, better and wide coverage of the poor is ensured. (THE FREEMAN)