The House committee on poverty alleviation chaired by Rep. Raymond Democrito Mendoza (Party-list, TUCP) has created a technical working group (TWG) that will consolidate two bills proposing data collection through community-based monitoring system (CBMS) and geo-tagging for the effective and faster implementation of national development projects, especially for the poor.
Rep. John Marvin Nieto (3rd District, Manila), committee vice chairman and presiding officer during the hearing, was designated chairman of the TWG which will consolidate House Bill Nos. 4700 and 5588 authored by Rep. Jose Enrique Garcia III (2nd District, Bataan) and Rep. Manuel Antonio Zubiri (3rd District, Bukidnon), respectively.
House Bill 4700 seeks to institutionalize community based monitoring system in all barangays while HB 5588 aims to establish a nationwide geo-tagging and poverty tracking system.
Garcia said the biggest continuing challenge the nation faces is eradicating poverty. He said to wage a successful war against poverty, it is important to know who the poor are, where they are, and why they continue to remain in such condition, and create solutions that are based on the specific answers offered.
“However, there is very little regular, up-to-date, and disaggregated data available relating to the different dimensions of poverty, particularly at the city, municipal and barangay levels,” Garcia said.
He said there are about approximately 970 municipalities and 80 cities that have used the community-based monitoring system (CBMS) as a tool in planning and implementing focused and targeted projects and programs for various sectors.
“In fact, as a former local chief executive for nine years, data from the CBMS was critical in formulating our local development programs. It was the basis for our discussions during the local development council meetings,” Garcia said.
“We cannot effectively govern without a plan and we cannot come up with a feasible plan without accurate and timely data. I believe the CBMS is an indispensable tool in public governance,” said Garcia.
Garcia proposed to make it mandatory for all barangays to establish and maintain a regular monitoring system that is community-based and area-specific.
Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto (6th District, Batangas), who was able to implement the CBMS in 2009 during her term as governor of Batangas, found the CBMS to be a very effective tool in gathering data per household.
“Through CBMS, epektibo ang paggamit ko ng pondo. Nalaman ko ang sitwasyon pag pinag-uusapan namin ang pamumuhay ng bawat pamilya sa Batangas,” said Santos-Recto.
As defined under HB 4700, “community-based monitoring system” refers to an organized electronic system of collecting and processing data at the local level.
The mandatory community based monitoring system (CBMS) shall collect and generate pertinent and regular data from each locality that will enable government institutions to implement projects that are specific, targeted, and responsive to the basic needs of each sector of the community.
Each barangay unit shall be the primary data collecting authority within its locality. Synchronized data collection must be conducted every three years or as often as viable to maintain an updated databank.
The bill mandates the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to work together and issue the implementing rules and regulations for the enforcement of the Act.
The PSA and the DILG shall ensure that the CBMS shall be as comprehensive as practicable, taking into account key areas and basic needs such as health, nutrition, housing, water and sanitation, basic education, income, employment, and peace and order necessary for nationwide development.
The DILG shall ensure adequate capacity building of each barangay to guarantee proper data collection through intensive training, information dissemination, constant monitoring of all barangay personnel.
The PSA shall be the national repository of all CBMS data collected by the local government units.
An initial amount of P2 billion and shall be made available from the funds of the PSA, DILG and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) not otherwise appropriated for the immediate implementation of the Act. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the continued enactment of the Act shall be provided in the yearly General Appropriations Act of the national government.
Meanwhile, House Bill 5588 introduced by Zibiri aims to establish a nationwide geo-tagging and poverty tracking system.
Zubiri said an institutionalized geo-tagging in all local government units will allow for more effective policy-making by both the national government and the different local government unit.
“It will allow facility in updating our respective maps and to track the success of government projects and avoid the pernicious problem of poverty which has so far hampered progress in our country,” he explained.
“Geo-tagging” as described in the bill refers to the process of adding geographical identification to various media in the form of metadata. The captured information are uploaded to a web-based application which provides the platform to geo-tag. This will do the mapping of all areas in the Philippines and allow the government, the citizenry, and other stakeholders to check the progress of the project in real time.
The bill mandates the DICT, with the assistance of the DILG, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DENR), and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to undertake the geo-tagging of all areas in the Philippines for efficiency of mapping and tracking the existence and progress of all infrastructure, conservation, and land titling projects as well as all projects relating to the patrimony of the Philippines.
The DILG shall coordinate with LGUs and pertinent government agencies to ensure the geo-tagging of all infrastructure, conservation, and land titling projects to show their progress from start to finish.
The implementing agency of the DENR shall be the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA).
The DICT, DILG, DPWH, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) shall work hand-in-hand to identify which areas are most stricken by poverty by determining the amount of physical resources of these areas and their respective basic infrastructure, facilities, and geography.
The DSWD, DPWH and the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) shall work together to create an exhaustive list of basic parameters to measure the level of poverty as outlined by the images received during geo-tagging.
The DICT, in coordination with DENR through NAMRIA shall set an online portal where information pertinent to the location specified can be accessed.
The DICT shall by way of national government start-up assistance, incorporate in the General Appropriations Act and/or from other funding sources as the President of the Philippines shall authorize the amount of P250 million which shall be earmarked and disbursed to the DICT for the nationwide geo-tagging system. | CONGRESS- PR
