Davao City – NRO XI Regional Director Maria Lourdes Lim conveyed the Regional Development Council XI’s commitment to a continuous partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development on the data sharing of the Listahanan 2 in Davao Region.

In her capacity as Acting RDC XI Chair, Director Lim delivered a message at the Launching of the 2015 Region XI Listahanan Database on 19 July 2016, where she cited the Listahanan’s vital role in bringing about positive change in the lives of poor Filipinos.

“It may not be possible to fully quantify the benefits of Listahanan right now,” said Director Lim, “as the real reckoning is yet to be seen in the future generations, the children of beneficiaries who now have access to quality education and health services for a brighter future — thus breaking the cycle of inter-generational poverty.”

In the implementation of the first set of Listahanan in 2011, the RDC XI  collaborated with DSWD through a Memorandum of Agreement, whereby DSWD downloaded Region XI poverty data to the Council for sharing to requesting members.   This had facilitated data-sharing as LGUs and RDC XI member agencies no longer had to sign individual MOAs with DSWD Central Office to access the needed information.  Director Lim assured DSWD that RDC XI shall sustain its support for the Listahanan 2 sharing process.

The DSWD conducted a second round of household assessment for the Listahanan in 2015.  The agency reported that out of 836,567 households assessed in Davao Region, about 34 percent or 280,325 households were identifed as “poor” in the following provinces:  Compostela Valley (52,811); Davao Oriental (52,542), Davao City (46,599); Davao Occidental (42,454); and Davao del Sur (41,230).

The Listahanan 2 launching event was graced by DSWD Undersecretary Florita Villar, World Bank Senior Economist Pablo Acosta and Davao Region’s local chief executives, municipal planning officers, representatives of government agencies, civil society organizations and the media. The activity was capped by a manifestation of support by the Region’s stakeholders.

Listahanan or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction is an administrative tool for identifying beneficiaries of social protection programs, minimizing wastage of resources to unintended recipients.   By way of Executive Order 867, series of 2010, all government agencies were directed to use the Listahanan as mechanism for identifying the poorest population for poverty reduction programs.   This also enjoins the convergence of efforts into appropriately scaled big projects for impact, transparency and good governance in project execution. (NEDA XI)