BANGUED, Abra (PIA) – Households in the province of Abra are encouraged to participate and cooperate in the provincewide roll-out of the Census of Population (PopCen) and Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) surveys from July 15 to September 15 this year.
Philippine Statistics Authority-Abra Senior Statistical Specialist Ludivina S. Beñas emphasized the importance of both surveys in allocating government funds, crafting policies, and planning programs for communities.
“Sa lahat ng mga household or family dapat kung may magpunta na enumerator, meron naman silang ID and may uniform sila, ay dapat magpa-interview tayo, maki-cooperate tayo kasi hindi natin namamalyan yung mga benefits na binibigay ng gobyerno sa atin,” she said.
Beñas explained that the PopCen and CBMS will simultaneously be implemented to maximize budget and to address the need for the updated population count, list of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program(4Ps) beneficiaries, and for other social protection initiatives of the government.
“Yung sa PopCen hanggang demographic characteristic pero yung CBMS we collect data of a certain household or certain individuals so kinukuha natin dito yung highest grade completed, yung kanilang labor characteristics or socio economic characteristic, health status, food security, and sanitation nila among others,” she shared.
She bared that these data will be used particularly by local government units in program planning and implementation. This will also be used as basis for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Listahanan and in the implementation of the 4Ps.
“Hindi natin nararamdaman pero may ginawang kalsada based sa inilagay nating information. Dito sa area na ito mayroong farmers and kailangan nila ng farm to market road, dito bine-base sa CBMS data and dito rin bine-base kung ilan ang nangangailangan ng ayuda,” Beñas said.
She added that it is mandatory for the household to answer the PopCen while it is optional to continue with the CBMS survey that can take an hour to finish depending on the household size. Although optional, she highly encourage respondents to answer the CBMS survey to be included, especially in the social service programs of the government.
“Kung hindi ka painterview hindi ka makakasama sa program kasi wala ka sa list. Kung ano ang nakalagay sa data ng LGU, doon sila magbe-base kung ano yung ipa-plano nila,” she stressed.
The CBMS survey this year will be funded by the national government. It will cover all the barangays in the province as compared to the sample survey conducted in 2022 that excluded some barangays in Bucay, San Juan, and Pidigan.
“In 2022, first to third class municipalities like Bangued, Tineg, and Tubo funded their CBMS implementation, tapos yung fourth to sixth class municipalities is may sample barangays na pinondohan ng national government,” Beñas said.
The PopCen is conducted every five years to record the total population of the country and gather basic information on its demographic characteristics. Meanwhile, the CBMS is conducted every three years to collect household data for local level planning, budgeting, and implementation of programs. (JJPM-PIA CAR, Abra with RJA-PIA GIP)
