DSWD-7 Director Ma. Evelyn Macapobre (center) explains the 2nd Listahanan database during its launching, with social welfare officer Grace Subong and DSWD National Capital Region Director Vincent Andrew Leyson. CDN PHOTO/AMY MACALINAO
THE Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7) launched its second Listahanan Database for Central Visayas at the Cebu Parklane International Hotel on Monday morning.
Formerly known as the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), the database gathers information of all the poor households in Region 7.
The second round of Listahanan assessment, which started last year, identified 385,534 poor households out of the 843,275 families assessed in the region, of which 99,993 are in Bohol, 279,110 in Cebu and 6,431 in Siquijor.
DSWD-7 Director Ma. Evelyn Macapobre said poor households were assessed based on their socioeconomic status, household members’ educational attainment and occupation, features of the housing structure and access to basic services like water, electricity and sanitary toilet.
Macapobre also added in a press conference that the number of assessed households is higher than the first round of assessment in 2009, where around 314,000 poor households were identified out of around 700,000 households assessed.
“It increased because our coverage has also widened,” Macapobre said in Cebuano.
DSWD National Capital Region Director Vincent Andrew Leyson said the Listahanan has been used by different government agencies and local government units (LGUs) in determining families that need support.
Among the government agencies are the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), which uses the database to get information of the fishermen who need assistance, and the Department of Energy (DOE) that uses the database to track energy lines (owner information) in barangays.
Ruben Boybanting, Project Development Officer of DSWD-7, said that the municipality of Dalaguete in southern Cebu was the first LGU to be awarded the Gawad Listahanan 2014 in the national level.
“Dalaguete used Listahanan to identify their municipal scholars,” Boybanting said.
Leyson added that the database can be accessed for free. /UP Cebu Intern Amy A. Macalinao