Asuncion, Davao Del Norte –The Local Government Unit here has chosen its locally funded Community Fund for Agricultural Development (CFAD) program as its entry to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Gawad Listahanan.

Listahanan is a DSWD national project that identifies who and where the poor are. It is an information management system that aims to establish a database of poor households that will become beneficiaries of social protection programs.

DSWD Director Priscilla N. Razon emphasized that Gawad Listahanan was conceived to recognize LGUs that committed and actively utilized the 2009 Listahanan database as they implement their locally funded programs and services.

As one of the nominated municipalities, LGU Asuncion has been using Listahanan data for more than three years now.

Realizing the challenges to make the LGU become socially and economically developed, Asuncion adopted the Listahanan when it identified beneficiaries for CFAD under the Department of Agriculture (DA).

CFAD covers livelihood and small infrastructure projects such as farm-to-market roads, pre- and post-harvest facilities, potable water system, poultry production, animal production, and purchase of organic fertilizer.

“We opted to use Listahanan for us to easily deliver our basic services to those in the list. We find also that this system restricts overrated projects that cannot be benefited by those in priority, but this agree to our limited resources, thus, our LGU needs this targeting system in order to equitably distribute its resources and services to the needier constituents,” explained Mayor Joseph Parreňas.

Mayor Parreňas reported that their CFAD project on chicken broiler production obtained a gross income of Php 149,200.82; the pre- and post-harvest facilities generated Php 60,000.00; 8 kids (goats) were produced; a contract worth Php 86,400.00 with Southern Philippines Agri-Business and Marine – Aquatic School of Technology (SPAMAST) as supplier of vermin cast was drawn; and the Agripreneurs Group was created to manage the LGU-CFAD collective projects.

The LGU has also trained a total of 389 organic farmer families.

“We are grateful that the Listahanan data really helped us especially in the identification of our beneficiaries. Because of the right targeting of beneficiaries, agricultural productivity and income of the poorest barangays increased with the sustainable agriculture and enterprise development,” shared Municipal Planning and Development Officer Mary Val E. Cortez.

“With these projects, kaya namin ang pagbabago dito sa Asuncion,” she beamed.

Other municipalities nominated for the regional level Gawad Listahanan are New Corella, Malalag and Magsaysay which have also endorsed their respective locally funded projects as entries to Gawad Listahanan.

The DSWD Regional Office Awards Committee shall select the town that will represent the region at the national level.  Awarding is set in January 2015 during the 64^th Founding Anniversary of DSWD. DSWD

Davao City  -Some 1085 minors applied for Travel Clearance at the regional office here of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) from January through September this year.

DSWD issues Travel Clearance to minors traveling outside the country who are unaccompanied by their biological parents.

According to DSWD Director Priscilla N. Razon most of these minors travel abroad to visit parents or relatives, go on vacation, attend educational tours, renew visa/entry or residency, study abroad or  migrate. Other reasons for travel include joining world competitions, participating in educational exchange programs and attending concert crusade, Director Razon said.

Director Razon emphasized that the travel clearance certifies that the minor is authorized to travel abroad for valid reasons. ”It is important to protect them from various forms of child abuse such as human trafficking. We always ensure that children’s rights are protected while on travel and while visiting other countries.”

DSWD records show that country-destinations include Japan, United States of America, Hongkong, China, Macau, Canada, KSA/SaudiArabia, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, Dubai, UAE, Thailand, Bangkok, London, United Kingdom, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Turkey, Taiwan, Qatar, Cambodia, Cayman, Paris/France, South Korea, Switzerland, Brunie, Indonesia, Norway, Iraq, Brazil, Denmark, The Netherlands, Laos, Italy, Myanmar, Austria, Germany, Israel and Spain.

Application for Minor’s Travel Clearance is processed at DSWD Regional Offices throughout the country. Here in Davao, the DSWD Office is located at cor. R. Magsaysay Ave. and D. Suazo St. Further inquiries may be channeled through telephone numbers  -2278746, 2271964. DSWD