DSWD: Over 184,000 Ilocos families ‘poor’

By John Michael Mugas

LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte — At least 184,716 households in Ilocos region were identified as “poor,” according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
    The figure came out after the latest DSWD assessment of at least 974,861 households in the region as of 2022.
    In a report March 22, the DSWD said Pangasinan, which has the biggest land area and population among the Ilocos provinces, had the highest number of poor households with 155,529.
    Pangasinan was followed by Ilocos Sur with 14,361 households; Ilocos Norte with 10,208, and La Union with 4,618.
    DSWD noted that the identification of the poor households was made under the efforts to come up with the “Listahanan 3” database, where the “new set of potential 4Ps [Pantawid
    Pamilyang Pilipino Program] beneficiaries” would be determined.
    The agency said it targeted at least 56,750 indigent households in the Ilocos region as potential beneficiaries of 4PS, a conditional cash transfer system to help impoverished households.
    These beneficiaries would be selected from among the most qualified under the Listahanan 3 database.
    Of the 56,750 target beneficiaries, 48,728 will come from Pangasinan; 4,031 from Ilocos Sur; 3,230 from Ilocos Norte; and 761 from La Union.
    These poor households in the region consist of “children below 18 years old or with a pregnant member at the time of assessment and were identified based on the DSWD’s standardized targeting system under Republic Act No. 11310,” according to DSWD.