At least 365,056 families in Eastern Visayas have been identified as poor based on the result of the Listahanan 3 survey as part of the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional office here said on Tuesday.

The number came from the 848,662 households assessed in the survey that started in 2019, which located and identified qualified beneficiaries of the government’s poverty alleviation program.

“This is just the initial number since there are further validations in our central office. Our key officials are there now to discuss the result of the Listahanan,” DSWD regional information officer Michelle Sabandal said.

Listahanan is an information management system that establishes a database of poor households that will serve as a basis for identifying potential beneficiaries for different social protection programs and services nationwide.

The third nationwide household assessment started in 2019, but it was delayed as pandemic movement restrictions suspended the house-to-house validation.

The DSWD finalized the result in the last quarter of 2021, Sabandal said.

“The data generated from the Listahanan 3 will serve as a basis for the DSWD, other national government agencies, local government units, and other stakeholders in targeting eligible beneficiaries for the existing and future social protection services and poverty reduction programs,” she added.

The DSWD regional office stepped up the validation process in compliance with the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo to clean the list of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries.

The 4Ps is the national poverty reduction strategy of the government, as stated under Republic Act 11310 or “An Act institutionalizing Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program” signed on April 17, 2019. (PNA)