A total of 775,335 households in Region 12 will be visited and interviewed by DSWD enumerators this summer.

Through the National Household Targeting Unit (NHTU) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) field office 12, households in four provinces and five cities in the region will be assessed during Listahanan second round nationwide household assessment.

Accordingly, in rural areas, all households will be assessed while, in urban areas, only pockets of poverty will be completely enumerated.

In line with this massive enumeration, the field office is now setting the safety nets in place to make sure that nothing will go wrong once the operation starts.

“We are making sure that during the household visit and interview, we don’t miss a household in our region”, DSWD 12 Regional Director Bai Zorahayda T. Taha assures.

It can be recalled that during the first nationwide household assessment in 2009, there were households who complained for not having been visited and interviewed by DSWD enumerators.

“We have experienced grievances in the past and we have learned from those shortcomings consequently, this time, we are doing everything our best to be omniscient as we can in this crucial operation through hiring competent field staff,” Taha explains.

Meanwhile, a total of 2,465 field workers which includes 65 area coordinators, 323 area supervisors, 1,615 enumerators, 231 encoders and 231 verifiers will be hired for this operation in Region 12. The field office is currently conducting interview and screening among applicants for the second round assessment.

The schedule of interview per province and city is as follows, Cotabato City- February 23 and 24, 2015; Sultan Kudarat – February 26 and 27, 2015; North Cotabato – March 2 and 3, 2015; Tacurong City– March 4, 2015; General Santos City- March 5 and 6, 2015; Sarangani- March 5 and 6, 2015; South Cotabato- March 5 and 6, 2015; Koronadal City- March 5 and 6, 2015.

The area coordinators will supervise area supervisors. Meanwhile, area supervisors are tasked to lead a team of enumerators.

The enumerators will conduct family interviews using the Family Assessment Form (FAF).

The FAF is a four-page questionnaire with 52 variables that are pertinent in determining a household’s welfare level. Encoders will input the data collected by the enumerators to the Listahanan database, while verifiers will check if the data entered are consistent and accurate.

Listahanan or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) is an information management system that identifies who and where the poor are nationwide. The first nationwide household assessment was conducted in 2009 and as per EO 867, updating of the Listahanan database of poor families shall be done every four (4) years thereafter. (end)