CSWDO report scored
“70% DAGUPENOS ARE INDIGENT”
WHO would have believed that 70% of the roughly 150,000 population of Dagupan City, that would be 105,000 people, are indigents?
Not the members of the Sangguniang Panglungsod (SP). Neither the City Hall.
But Leila Natividad, officer-in-charge of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) under the Mayor’s Office, said this is what the records from the National Economic and Development Authority indicate.
City Administrator Vladmir Mata remarked that Natividad, who had just taken over the post from CSWDO chief Elsa Santillan who is on preventive suspension for two months, was just “confused”.
Mata said the 70 percent estimate of Natividad is “not probable” and even her subsequent 30 percent estimate may be based on old records dating back to the 1990’s.
Natividad was directed to seek and submit further clarification on the erroneous data she reported.
COUNCIL SESSION
Natividad appeared before the city council last week to seek the passage of the resolution formalizing the composition of the Local Verification Committee (LVC) in connection with the implementation of the Conditional Cash Transfer Program National under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Natividad explained that 70% “is a rough estimate” and defined “indigents” as those belonging to families whose monthly income is not enough to pay for basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing.
The SP was shocked by Natividad’s report and caused some furor.
Vice Mayor Belen Fernandez, SP chair, said she was incredulous to be told that such a big number are classified as “indigents” in a city that is considered the major commercial center of the province.
The LVC validates the list of poor households in every barangay based on a survey conducted by the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction Project in 2009.
The LVC members, appointed by Mayor Benjamin Lim, are James Louel Fernandez of the City Planning and Development Office; Lina Tan of the Liwawa Ed Asinan Foundation, Romualdo Siapno of the Dagupan Bangus Jaycees and Pastor Mario Tomboc, school administrator of the Living Lights Foundation, a faith-based group; and Natividad.
The resolution, once approved by the SP, will validate and finalize the list of poor households in every barangay that will qualify for the Conditional Cash Transfer Program (CCTP) of the government.
Under the CCTP, indigents are guaranteed at least P500 per month with certain conditions related to children’s attendance in school and maternity check-ups.
Mata initially said the city government is ready with its draft survey and has began consolidating the reports to establish the baseline data of indigents in the city.
He said enumerators are already being trained to validate the data in the barangays for a comprehensive enumeration of basic sectors and profiling of the city’s residents to enable city hall to pinpoint the area where the city can intervene and alleviate poverty in the barangays.
The SP withheld approval of the resolution sought by Natividad pending submission of the actual validated number of indigents in the city.–LM
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