The towns of San Gabriel in La Union and Sual in Pangasinan are the pilot areas for the community-based monitoring system (CBMS) in the Ilocos Region.
In a media forum organized by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Wednesday, CBMS focal person and senior statistical specialist Teresa Olarte said the pilot surveys in these two local government units (LGUs) started in October this year and will end by December, while results will be out in March next year prior to the nationwide launch in July 2022.
“CBMS is an organized technology-based system of collecting, processing, and validating necessary related data for use in program implementation and monitoring at the local level. It involves all census of household(s) in the community, obtained through an interview,” she added.
Olarte said obtaining data under CBMS is necessary for targeting beneficiaries by LGUs, and national government agencies for social development programs.
“Policy and program planners would be able to conduct more comprehensive poverty analysis that makes prioritization and to be better informed in the allocating of public resources and go to areas that are most wanting,” she said.
Among the data gathered through CBMS are those under health, education, income, nutrition, housing, water, sanitation, education, and employment, among others.
Olarte said these disaggregated data can be used by many LGUs in preparing plans, including disaster risk reduction and management.
These are also influential and serve as a well-rounded basis for establishments and improvements in infrastructure, extending assistance to vulnerable sectors, and assessing impacts of interventions and projects of the governments, she added.
Olarte said the funding for the CBMS of the fourth to sixth class municipalities would be handled by the PSA, while the third to first-class municipalities would shoulder the funding for their CBMS.
“It would be conducted simultaneously every three years but LGUs may conduct the CBMS at shorter intervals in-between years of CBMS-synchronized conduct,” she said.
PSA Ilocos Region chief statistical specialist Juanito Yabes said CBMS’ methodology is different from the other surveys by PSA and other government agencies as it focuses on the real picture of LGUs from the provincial level to the community level.
The CBMS is in pursuant to Republic Act No. 11315, otherwise known as the Community-Based Monitoring System Act approved on April 17, 2019.
Its implementing rules and regulations were signed on May 20, 2020 with the PSA as the head implementing agency.
Source: Philippines News Agency