The Department of Social Welfare and Development through National Household Targeting Office in coordination with the National Household Target Unit Field Office III conducted the Pilot Test for the Proxy Means Test Model last February 19 in Porac, Pampanga. This is to ensure that the other PMT model, outside NCR model, is effective.

The PMT NCR model and all regions without NCR model were created after the series of meetings of the National Technical Advisory Group which consists of DSWD, Social Weather Stations, Pulse Asia, National Statistics Office, University of the Philippines and National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). The NCR model differs from the other due to the geographical characteristics of the area.

The NHTO Statistics Unit, which spearheaded the said activity, identified Porac, Pampanga as the location for the Pilot Testing because of its geographic location and specific features of a rural community. Barangay Poblacion and Inararo were two of the chosen barangays, these are rural barangays identified by the NSCB.
Out of 3,991 identified poor households in Porac, only 106 households were assessed.

“The pilot testing was well coordinated. There are Barangay Health Workers, Parent leaders and other barangay officials who assisted us during the assessment,” said Czar Cornelius David, Regional Field Coordinator of NHTU FO III. David added that the households that were visited were well informed that this is not the real assessment. We told them that we did the said activity to really validate that the Family Assessment Form (FAF) will function well and during the assessment proper.

The FAF was improved, from 36 variables during the 1st assessment in 2009 to 45 variables this 2nd assessment. “Accomplishing the new FAF is very crucial. In the training of the field staff, we will make sure that they are really equipped before they will be deployed, hopefully in the 2nd quarter of 2014, in their respective municipalities. We want to ensure that the real poor families will be identified,” said David.
In 2nd quarter of 2014, Listahanan has a target of 1,451,248 households in all rural areas and pockets of poverty in urban areas in Central Luzon.

Listahanan is an information management system that identifies who and where the poor are. The system makes available to national government agencies and other social protection stakeholders a database of poor families as basis in identifying potential beneficiaries of social protection programs and services. ### (Alexis Myer I. Delicano)

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