Identifying the poor is now assured with the complete, accurate, and true information gathered in the field through the just concluded special validation for Social Pension Program (SocPen) and Modified Conditional Cash Transfer for Families in Need of Special Protection (MCCT-FNSP) beneficiaries by the Listahanan Project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 1 (DSWD FO1).

After the two-month assessment activity, Family Assessment Forms (FAFs) are currently being run to Proxy Means Test (PMT) to classify the beneficiaries as poor or non-poor.

There were a total of 9,382 beneficiaries (SocPen-8,779 and MCCT-FNSP-603) who were assessed by 57 field support staff (10 Area Supervisors and 47 Enumerators) deployed in the four provinces of the region through asking vital information required by the FAF.

Those who will be classified as poor under the SocPen special validation will be guaranteed for the resumption of their monthly stipends. While inclusion of MCCT-FNSP beneficiary-families in the Listahanan database of poor households will guarantee their mainstreaming to the regular Pantawid Pamlilyang Pilipino Program.

SocPen allocates monthly stipend worth P500.00 to all indigent senior citizens ages 77 and above to augment their daily needs such as medicine, food, and others, while MCCT-FNSP is a program designed to maximize the Conditional Cash Transfer Program.

Listahanan features the legitimate database of poor families deserving to be beneficiaries of social protection programs and services from the government. It is an information management system that identifies who and where the poor are. (by: Jaesem Ryan A. Gaces, Administrative Assistant III, Listahanan/NHTS-PR).