The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through the Listahanan or the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction, awarded the first Gawad Listahanan to the Municipal Government of Dalaguete, Cebu; Escalante City, Negros Occidental; and, Ilocos Norte on January 29 during the Department’s 64th anniversary celebration.

Gawad Listahanan is an award conferred to local government units (LGUs) that have registered the most number of beneficiaries of their locally-funded programs using the Listahanan database of poor families.

Listahanan is an information management system that makes available to national government agencies, local government units, and other social protection stakeholders a comprehensive list of poor families in need of assistance.

“This award recognizes the significant efforts of our data users, and celebrates their success in ensuring the protection and improving the quality of life the poor,” said DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman.

Dalaguete Mayor Ronald Allan G. Cesante received the award for the municipal category. The town entered the locally-funded program known as the Local Government Institutional Support Services for Transformation Advancement (LISSTA) that provides educational assistance like school supplies and scholarship grants to Listahanan identified-poor students at the elementary, high school, and college levels.

Escalante City Councilor Virgie A. Pastor received the award for the city category. The city implements the Indigency Program, which provides Listahanan-identified poor families with hospital, medical, and burial assistance.

For the provincial category, Corazon Lilian C. Rin, Head of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) of Ilocos Norte, received the award.

Ilocos Norte has established the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) program using the Listahanan as basis for its local situation analysis, planning, beneficiary selection, monitoring and evaluation of local poverty issues and response mechanism. Some projects under the MDG program include Scholar ni Manang Imee, Animal Dispersal, and Medical and Dental Mission, among others.

Gawad Listahanan winners received a plaque of appreciation and cash incentive of P50,000. ###