Jovy Picardal, 41, a resident of Barangay Mataas na Kahoy, General Mamerto Natividad, Nueva Ecija is one of the strong ladies who persistently prove that the days of women inferiority are long gone. With her drive, dedication, and commitment, along with her fellow active community volunteers, Picardal made it possible for her barangay to bag the third place in the Municipal Inter-Barangay Forum – Participatory Resource Allocation (MIBF-PRA).

Aside from being a parent leader of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Porgram, Picardal is a volunteer of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) and a bookkeeper of Barangay Sub-Project Management Committee (BSPMC). “Pinagbuti ko ang pagiging volunteer na iginawad sa akin. Isa rin ako sa nakaalalay sa aming treasurer ng barangay sa kadahilanang siya ay may maraming trabaho (I did my best as a volunteer. I was also one of those who assisted our barangay treasurer because he’s too busy with other matters),” she said with pride and enthusiasm.

She worked non-stop to make her community a conducive and sustainable place for the future generation. Remarkably, she achieved way more than what she asked for when her community’s collective effort was acknowledged by the KALAHI.

Last November 2015, her barangay was selected among the 64 barangays in Region 3 to receive the Community Development Technical Assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Picardal and her fellow volunteers were the happiest in their community when their proposed construction of a school building for their community high school was selected and funded by the department.

Now, the sub-project in Barangay Mataas na Kahoy is complete and the volunteers and organizers are waiting for the release of their third tranche fund. With the support of the Barangay Local Government Unit (BLGU) led by Punong Barangay Gemeniano Narciso, the project was implemented with minimal and manageable challenges. Picardal added, “Ang problema ng barangay ay isa-isa naming hinanap at binigyan ng solusyon. (We determined and addressed the problem in our barangay).”

According to Picardal, when the KALAHI was introduced to their barangay in 2015, the entire community became mobilized as the program triggered their sense of volunteerism. To determine which problems needed to be addressed, they conducted a Participatory Situational Analysis (PSA). “Dito ko nalaman kung paano ang proseso ng programang ito at dito ko nakita na may maganda silang hangarin para umunlad ang barangay (Here, I found out about more about the program and realized that it is intended to help our barangay progress),” Picardal said. After the PSA, the members of the community were delegated to their respective positions. Here, Picardal was tasked to be the volunteer in the Project Preparation Team (PPT) and Community Monitoring Team (CMT).

As a volunteer, Picardal developed the confidence and skills to communicate with the officials of KALAHI-CIDSS. “Dahil dito, lalo naming pinagbuti ng pagvovolunteer na kahit mahirap, pinagpatuloy ko ang pagiging volunteer. Dito ko naranasan na masaya ang may naitutulong sa mga kabarangay at maraming natutunang kaalaman para sa pagpropose ng isang proyekto (Because of this, we exerted further effort in our volunteer work despite all the hardships. I am happy that I can help my fellow community members while learning the needed skills in project proposal),” she added.

Fulfilling the role as a community volunteer also made Picardal realize that although she was not able to graduate high school, she can still play a significant role in her community. KALAHI taught her how to manage important project documents, as well.

“Ang lahat ng ito ay aking ginampanan bilang volunteer para maisakatuparan at makamit ang magandang record ng aming barangay sa Programang KALAHI CIDSS NCDDP. Hanggang matapos ang aming proyekto, ako [ay] isang volunteer pa rin para sa ikauunlad, ikagaganda, at ikasasaya ng aming barangay. Maraming salamat sa KALAHI-CIDSS-NCDDP at mga kawani nito (I accomplished all of these as a volunteer four our barangay to achieve and attain a good record in the KALAHI-CIDSS-NCDDP program. Until the end of our project, I will be a volunteer for the progress, beautification, and happiness of our barangay. Thanks to the KALAHI-CIDSS-NCDDP and to its employees),” Picardal said. ### (Ma. Denieele M Lomboy/Manilyn B. Cruz)

Some P530,671.00 worth of relief goods has been provided to the victims of Typhoon Butchoy which occurred on July 7 affecting the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan and Zambales.

The said assistance, which came from the combined resources of the DSWD and the local government units (LGUs) were extended to Bataan- P169,731.00 and Zambales- P360,940.00. Of these assistance, P433,128.00 worth of food items came from the DSWD and P97,543 from the LGUs of Bataan.

DSWD has also prepositioned 6,590 family food packs in the provinces of Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Zambales.

As of 3:00 PM today, disater monitoring report, Typhoon Butchoy has affected 8,009 families composed of 33,323 persons from the 11 municipalities of the provinces of Bataan (4,340 families), Bulacan (492) and Zambales (3,177).

Of the 21 evacuation opened, 10 are still in operation serving 68 families or 255 persons. Meanwhile, a total of 5,264 families or 21,154 persons are being were served in their respective communities.

The rains that triggered flood in the affected areas had left nine (9) families with partially damaged houses. No casualties were reported as of this time.

DSWD FO III has activated its quick response teams (QRTs) at the field office and provincial extension offices which are now monitoring the situation in the affected provinces. The Field Office continue its close coordination with the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) at the regional level and Local DRRMC at the provincial/municipal level. ### (Evelyn T. Manalo)

The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office III (DSWD FO III) presented on June 29 the profile of targeted poor families based on the result of the LISTAHANAN second round of assessment implemented in 2015.

Speaking before the 300 guests from the local government units (LGUs), national government agencies (NGAs), academe, civil society organizations (CSOs), media and representative from the International Community, Director Gemma Gabuya said the second assessment covered 1,379,927 households in Central Luzon. Of these, 244,593 or 17.73% were identified as poor households. This comprised 4.78% of the 5,116,976 identified poor households nationwide.

The poor households were identified through the Listahanan second assessment conducted in 2015. The LISTAHANAN or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) is an administrative tool for targeting poor families.

The assessment used the Proxy Means Test (PMT) models to estimate the per capita income of the households. Through this assessment, the DSWD FO III identified 244,593 targeted poor households regionwide with annual per capita income less than the poverty threshold reported by the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) for 2015.

Meanwhile, 596,596 poor individuals of the targeted poor households reside in urban areas and 805,222 live in urban areas, Gabuya added.

Gabuya also identified the top three (3) provinces with the most number of poor households in the region. Nueva Ecija topped the list with 69,048 poor households or 28.23% followed by Pampanga with 47,831 or 19.56% and Bulacan with 43,246 or 17.68%.

Of the 1,401,878 poor individuals who comprise the 244,953 identified poor house households, 51.88% or 727,290 are male and 48.12% or 674,588 are female. Meanwhile, 651,584 or 46.48% are children who are 3-18 years old; 32,018 or 22.83% are youth aged 15-30; 53,019 or 3.78% are senior citizen who are 60 and above; and 1.25% or 17,564 are persons with disability.

There are 9,912 or 4.05% poor households who belong to the Indigenous People’s (IPs) Group. The highest numbers of IPs are found in the Province of Zambales, Gabuya added.

On education, there are 236,935 poor individuals or 16.90% are attending elementary (6-11 years old) and 112,766 poor individuals are attending high school (12-15 years old). Meanwhile, 27,440 poor individuals or 1.96% are attending college (16-30 years old); 30.54% or 428,087 poor individuals are attending school (3-18 years old); and 24.13% or 338,275 poor individuals attained any level level in high school (15 years old and above.

On labor force: 51.84% or 726,794 poor individuals are part of labor force with ages 15 years old and above. A total of 409,882 poor individuals or 29.24% are reported to have no occupation (15 years old and above) while 23,204 poor individuals or 1.66% of the working population have no formal education.

Meanwhile, 21.08% or 51,557 do not have access to electricity; 10.47% or 25,600 do not have access to safe water system; and 32.86% or 80370 do not have sanitary toilet facility.
Poor households have three (3) major assets, namely, telephone/cellphone- 151,860; television- 140,221; and radio- 43,892, Gabuya added.

Gabuya also informed the group that to get hold of the names and addresses of poor households, families or individuals, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the DSWD and the interested data user must be executed. ### (ETManalo)

The photo exhibit showcases photographs that captured the Listahanan Second Assessment Project Cycle. It also features the triumphs as well as the challenges encountered by the staff… unmindful of the scorching heat of the sun or heavy downpours, long travels to far-flung areas, and even crossing rivers and mountains. These workers relentlessly pursued their work with passion, integrity, and unwavering commitment to come up with a targeting system database that is “SIGURADO KUMPLETO TOTOO”

The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office III (DSWD FO III) has launched on June 29 the profile of targeted poor families based on the result of the Listahanan second round of assessment implemented in 2015.

In her welcome remarks, Regional Director Gemma B. Gabuya said that Listahanan has placed the Philippines at the forefront of global experience in national household targeting for poverty reduction. Listahanan enables efficient and effective use of government resources, she added.

The Listahanan or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), an administrative tool for targeting poor families establishes a centralized database of targeted poor families to serve as basis for identifying beneficiaries of social protection programs and services, minimizing wastage of resources to unintended recipients, Gabuya said.

She also mentioned that there are already 96 partner stakeholders from the local government units, national government agencies, and legislators who forged MOA with DSWD Field Office III for the utilization of Listahanan database.

Gabuya also thanked DSWD’s partner local government units who extended support in the conduct of the Listahanan 2nd round of assessment such as provision of vehicle, printing of Family Assessment Forms, office supplies and other logistics al support.

In her keynote message, Undersecretary Florita R. Villar shared the learning and realization that led to the development of Listahanan and the gains from using the 2011 database. Usec. Villar said that the first Listahanan conducted in 2009 covered 10.9 million households nationwide. Of these, 5.2 million poor households that were identified were enrolled in the PhilHealth Indigent Program while 4.2 million were also enrolled in the Pantawid Pamilya.

Usec. Villar added that in 2015, DSWD again conducted another round of assessment which covered 15 million households nationwide. She also informed the group that the second assessment showed that of the 4.2 million households assessed in 2009, there are 1.5 million families that have transitioned out of poverty.

“We will make the Listahanan II data available to our partners because we want them to know who and where the poor are,” Villar said.

She also acknowledged the World Bank for its support in establishing the 2011 Listahanan database. In thanking the DSWD’s partners, she said, “You have helped us make our response to poverty more evidence-based, and therefore more appropriate to the situation of the people who need our help the most”.

Meanwhile, partners from the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) and National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) gave their message of support to Listahanan. Ms. Ruby Vitug said that DSWD’s partnership with PhilHelath has led to the expansion of health insurance coverage to identified children of Listahanan poor and children of Modified Conditional Cash Transfer (MCCT) beneficiaries. On the other hand, Ms. Susan Santiago of NEDA Region III congratulated the DSWD for successfully completing the 2015 Listahanan database.

Mr. Pablo Acosta, The World Bank’s Senior Economist and Task Team Leader- Social Protection and Labor of the World Bank acknowledged Listahanan as the backbone of information system. “We need to know them (the poor) to include them,” he stressed.

In her presentation of the new Proxy Means Test (PMT), Director Rhodora Alday of the Policy and Development and Planning Bureau illustrated how the PMT classifies households to poor and non-poor. She explained that the estimated household’s per capita income is based on data from non-income variables collected from the family assessment form. “We classified households to poor and non-poor using the per capita poverty threshold as reference,” Dir. Alday said.

One of the highlights of the event was the presentation of the profile of the poor in Region III. In her presentation of the current profile of the poor in Region III, Director Gabuya said the second assessment covered 1,379,927 households. Of these, 244,593 or 17.73% were identified as poor households in the region. This comprised 4.78% of the 5,116,976 identified poor households nationwide.

Gabuya also identified the top three (3) provinces with the most number of poor households in the region. Nueva Ecija topped the list with 69,048 poor households or 28.23% followed by Pampanga with 47,831 or 19.56% and Bulacan with 43,246 or 17.68%.

Of the 1,401,878 poor individuals who comprise the 244,953 identified poor house households, 51.88% or 727,290 are male and 48.12% or 674,588 are female. Meanwhile, 651,584 or 46.48% are children who are 3-18 years old; 32,018 or 22.83% are youth aged 15-30; 53,019 or 3.78% are senior citizen who are 60 and above; and 1.25% or 17,564 are persons with disability.

There are 9,912 or 4.05% poor households who belong to the Indigenous People’s (IPs) Group. The highest numbers of IPs are found in the Province of Zambales, Gabuya added.

On education, there are 236,935 poor individuals or 16.90% are attending elementary (6-11 years old) and 112,766 poor individuals are attending high school (12-15 years old). Meanwhile, 27,440 poor individuals or 1.96% are attending college (16-30 years old); 30.54% or 428,087 poor individuals are attending school (3-18 years old); and 24.13% or 338,275 poor individuals attained any level level in high school (15 years old and above.

On labor force: 51.84% or 726,794 poor individuals are part of labor force with ages 15 years old and above. A total of 409,882 poor individuals or 29.24% are reported to have no occupation (15 years old and above) while 23,204 poor individuals or 1.66% of the working population have no formal education.

Meanwhile, 21.08% or 51,557 do not have access to electricity; 10.47% or 25,600 do not have access to safe water system; and 32.86% or 80370 do not have sanitary toilet facility.

Gabuya also mentioned that poor households have three (3) major assets, namely, telephone/cellphone- 151,860; television- 140,221; and radio- 43,892.

In his testimonial, Mayor Santiago Austria of Jaen, Nueva Ecija, the National Winner of the 2015 Gawad Listahanan (Municipal Category) shared how they utilized the Listahanan database and how it contributed to their improved targeting system and efficient delivery of social services to their constituents. “Ang Listahanan ay siguradong kompleto at totoo na dapat sundin,” he said.

Partner stakeholders signed the “I Support Listahanan” tarpaulin to symbolize their continued support to the Listahanan through the utilization of the database for their implementation of social protection programs.

As part of the advocacy on Listahanan, the DSWD mounted a photo exhibit that featured the various phases of the project including the experiences of the workers, their challenges and triumphs just to come up with a database that is ‘Sigurado, Kompleto, Totoo’. A short video presentation of Listahanan: Tuloy ang Pagbabago that featured the utilization of the first database and the gains and innovations of the project.

The event was graced by 250 guests comprised of local chief executives, representatives from the congressional districts, national government agencies, civil society organizations, academe and media practitioners. ### (E.T.Manalo/F.T.Sanga, Jr.)

Nakakataba ng puso na malaman ang mga malaking nagagawa ng maliit na tulong na nagmumula sa Pantawid Pamilya. Kagaya na lamang ng kwento ng isang simpleng maybahay na si Noreen Galgao.

Si nanay Noreen ay isang mabuting maybahay na pinakalooban ng dalawang anak. Siya din ay aktibo sa kanilang Barangay, s’ya ay isang Parent-Leader na namumuno sa mga kasama nyang kasapi ng Pantawid Pamilya gayundin at aktibo din syang makilahok sa mga programang pangkalusugan sa kanilang lugar.

Sa pagsasaka at pamamasada ng kanyang asawa sila kumukuha ng panggastos nila sa araw-araw. Pinagkalooban sila ng tricycle ng kanyang pinsan upang kahit paano ay magkaroon sila ng mapagkakakitaan. Kung minsan ay tumatanggap din sya ng labada sa kanilang mga kapitbahay. Pilit nilang pinagkakasya ang kinikita nilang mag- asawa sa mga gastusin sa bahay— pambili ng bigas, ulam at baon ng mga anak nila sa eskwela. Ganito ang buhay nila noon, simple. Hanggang sa dumating ang magandang balita nang mapabilang sila bilang benepisyaryo ng Pantawid Pamilya.

Dati-rati ay pahirapan silang humanap ng pera at kung minsan ay hindi na nila alam kung saan o kanino hihiram sa tuwing may gastusin sa paaralan, ngunit sa tulong ng programa ay hindi na sila kailanman mangangamba dahil sa cash grants na pinagkakaloob sa kanila.

At dahil din sa sipag at tiyaga nilang mag-asawa, ang kanilang panganay na anak ay nakatapos na ng dalawang taong kurso sa kolehiyo, Computer Management sa College for Research and Technology at kasalukuyan ngayon ay nagtatrabaho sa isang bookshop sa bayan ng Guimba. Sa tulong ng programa ay nakapagtapos ang kanyang anak na ngayon ay unti-unti nang nakakamit ang kaniyang mga pangarap. Dagdag pa rito ay nakakatulong na din sya sa pag-aaral ng isa pa nyang kapatid na ngayon ay nasa Grade 9 na sa Triala High School.

At si nanay Noreen ay isa sa mga mapalad na mapagtapos sa kursong Dressmaking at mapagkalooban ng Hi-Speed na Sewing Machine pagkatapos ng kanilang 12-day training sa Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) ng DSWD. Sa ngayon ay tumatanggap na siya ng mga patahi sa kanilang bahay mula sa isang supplier ng mga short pants.

“Laking pasasalamat ko po sa DSWD at sa mga programang ipinapatupad nito at naging kabahagi ako at hanggang ngayon ay nakakatulong sa pag-angat ng aming buhay. Dalangin ko ay magpatuloy pa ito at lalo pang lumawak,” ani Noreen. ### (Hazel May Galolo, ML)