The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Bicol has launched Listahanan as the new brand name for National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR). This was held last October 14, 2013 at Alvis, Cafe Daraga, Albay.

The event was part of the month-long celebration of the National Statistics Month. In connection with the theme of this year’s NSM which is “Statistics That Matter to Every Filipino”, the launching of Listahanan emphasized on the vital role of its data in changing the lives of the poor.

“Aside from being the basis for identifying poor families who will be beneficiaries of social protection programs, the Listahanan data can also be used as development planning tool. It can show program implementers and policy makers, the people and places that need their resources the most,” said DSWD Regional Director Arnel B. Garcia.

Director Garcia also reported on the status of 2nd round of household assessment.“Interviews of applicants are being done in order to fill the 3,450 manpower required to assess the target of 1.08 million households for both rural and urban areas in Bicol Region”, stated Director Garcia.

The launching was attended by members of the Regional Statistical Coordination Committee (RSCC) and local media outfits. Engineers Gil Arce, Regional Head of the National Statistical Coordination Board and Luis Banua, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Assistant Regional Director were among those who attended the launching and expressed their support for the project. The latter even commended DSWD for coming up with a moniker for NHTS-PR. “With the brand name Listahanan, strong recall and easy pronouncement was established”, stated Banua. Philhealth and LCC Foundation also shared their testimonials on the utilization of Listahanan data in the implementation of their pro-poor programs.

A covenant signing with the media served as a closure to the activity. It symbolically emphasizes the importance of the role of the media to keep the public well-informed of the government’s initiatives.