PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan (PIA) — The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Palawan had the inaugural turnover of data in the region from the 2022 Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) to the local government unit (LGU) of Linapacan, pushing to strengthen effective local planning.
PSA Regional Director Leni Rioflorido said Monday that the conduct of CBMS pushes to empower communities through technology-based data collection. Among provinces in the Mimaropa, Palawan is the first province to host a data turnover through Linapacan LGU.
The PSA is mandated to implement the CBMS under RA No. 11315, or the CBMS Act, approved on April 17, 2019, and the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) signed on May 20, 2020.
“The entire community generates localized data on dimensions like health, education, agriculture, and income, among others, for effective local planning and poverty alleviation,” she said.
Some of the objectives of CBMS are to have targeted beneficiary data, comprehensive poverty analysis, policy design, and impact monitoring.
PSA Regional Director Leni Rioflorido explains the purpose of CBMS during the turnover ceremony. (Photo by Rachel Ganancial)
Linapacan, a fifth-class town, is one of the PSA-funded towns in Palawan, along with Cagayancillo, Kalayaan, Magsaysay, and Agutaya. The towns of Narra, Roxas, Taytay, Bataraza, and Sofronio Española were not able to conduct the 2022 CBMS due to budgetary constraints.
Provincial Director Virgilio Tagle of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said the data collected from the town represents the voices and experiences of the community.
LGUs can also empower communities through the sharing of data and the planning process, which will also boost a sense of ownership and responsibility. He added that it will further create a more collaborative and sustainable approach to development.
“This information reveals what we are facing and what we want, guiding us to make informed decisions and take action that truly helps.The CBMS allows you to tailor interventions to the specific needs of your communities, ensuring maximum impact and exclusivity,” he said.
The challenge of connectivity to upload data was managed with the assistance of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on the ground.
2022 CBMS Highlights
The data collection ran from August 11 to November 4, 2022, and was processed from November 10, 2022, to April 28, 2023. The covered population was 15,976, with 3,831 responding households in 10 barangays.
2022 CBMS data shows 35.6 percent, or 1,365 households, do not have access to electricity, and 71.2 percent still have no access to the internet, or 2,727 households. A large number of households get their water for general use and drinking from unprotected sources like open-dug wells.
Even though 72.6 percent of households, or 2,783 households, have basic sanitation facilities, 302 households still share with other households, 63 have unimproved sanitation, and 683 still practice open defecation.
The disposal of human feces in areas like fields, forests, and open bodies of water was mainly practiced by indigenous peoples, PSA reported. Linapacan Executive Assistant Lyle Coruña said that the provision of toilet bowls by the municipal health office is not enough to cover all households.
One of the slides from the PSA presentation shows the 2022 CBMS highlights in Linapacan. (Photo by Rachel Ganancial)
“Totoo naman ‘yon kasi karamihan ng lugar ay malalayo talaga, halos walang silang mga bahay na maayos, lalong-lalo na CR. Karamihan don ay member ng IPs— iyan ay unti-unti ginagawan ng intervention ng MHO, kasi kapag may ganon silang activity ay nagkakaron ng epekto sa health nila,” he said.
In the past 12 months, a large portion of households, 65.2 percent, were worried they did not have enough food to eat; 9.4 percent had to skip a meal; 3.7 percent were hungry but did not eat; and 1.4 percent went without eating for a whole day.
The school attendance of students starts to decline at 13 years old in both sexes. The top reason was the lack of personal interest, 50.9 percent for males and 29.7 percent for female.
It was also the top contributor to the labor force of ages 15 and above, wherein 68.4 percent comes from males and 21.9 percent are females.
“Iniisip nila na mag-asawa after high school kasi mahirap talaga— Papaano kapag ang mga magulang mo iiwan mo, hindi mo matutulungan sa mga gawain kasi mahirap kaya ang ginagawa ay humihinto na lang,” Coruña said.
In disaster preparedness, three in 20 respondents know contacts in case of emergency, and three in five discuss with households how to prepare for disasters.
Executive Assistant Lyle Coruña represents Linapacan Mayor Emil Niel Neri in delivering the acceptance speech for CBMS data. (Photo by Rachel Ganancial)
LGU’s response
The LGU eyes to allot a huge part of the fund to combat malnutrition and improve sanitation, including the provision of materials to build comfort rooms. Through CBMS data, LGU can save time, funds, and efforts in project implementation.
“Mahirap mag-govern na hindi namin alam ang real score don sa sitio o purok— Sa ngayon ang data ay iba-iba ang pinanggagalingan, nagpi-prepare. Hindi nagkakatugma sa agencies nagbibigay ng interventions, ang pinaka-bible namin ay ito ng CBMS,” Coruña said.
Other proposed projects in 2024 include providing a Starlink connection to all barangays and alternate livelihoods aside from fishing. As a fifth-class town, Coruña admits that their status also affects the funding received to implement projects.
The municipal civil registrar will temporarily take charge of the data turned over while waiting for the approval of the National Privacy Commission (NPC) on the data privacy officer post in Linapacan.
LGU and PSA also signed a data sharing agreement in the presence of DILG and DICT. (RG/PIA Mimaropa – Palawan)
