Marcos orders community-based monitoring system completed

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has ordered the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to conduct a census through the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS), Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian said Tuesday.

Gatchalian made the remarks following a sectoral meeting with Marcos where they discussed the CBMS and the proposed reforms to the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). 

The CBMS is a data-gathering system at the local level that serves as a basis for targeting households in planning, budgeting, and implementing government programs. These programs cover poverty alleviation and economic development programs such as the 4Ps.

“The major highlight is the President reemphasized so many times that the CBMS ay dapat gawin na at sabi naman ng NEDA at DBM the funds are being processed, [once] released, they can conduct that,” Gatchalian said. 

“It’s a very effective tool, kasi granular siya, nakapa-micro ng kanyang sinusukat at dahil LGU-driven ito, together with the PSA, puwede n’yong i-update ang update nang mas mabilis. Kasi alam mo ‘yung lugar,” he said.

National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said the PSA will start the census once they receive the budget from the Department of Budget and Management. 

The agency is targeting to complete it by the end of 2024. 

Under Republic Act 11315 or the CBMS Act, the PSA is tasked to create a database containing statistical and geospatial information for local-level planning and beneficiary targeting. 

In May 2023, Gatchalian said the DSWD’s “Listahanan” poverty database, which identifies poor families and their locations, will end to give way for the full implementation of the CBMS in 2024. —LDF, GMA Integrated News