Marcos wants DSWD’s community-based monitoring system finished

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (PPA POOL)

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) must be finished as soon as possible, said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary, Rex Gatchalian, on Tuesday.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) website, the CBMS is a system that collects, processes, and validates data used for a more comprehensive poverty analysis. It was meant to replace the DSWD’s poverty database “Listahanan” in 2024.

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“The President said that the CBMS needs to be finished as soon as possible. The PSA assured thorough Usec. [Undersecretary] Dennis Mapa that the moment the budget allocated for it was released, it would complete [the CBMS] by the end of the year. By January, there would be a new list,” Gatchalian said, speaking in Filipino, in a Palace briefing.

Gatchalian had joined Marcos in a meeting with Mapa and National Economic and Development Authority Sec. Arsenio Balisacan.

According to Gatchalian, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program list has already been organized and cleaned. However, it needs to be updated.

The CBMS will act as a source for the DSWD’s programs, Gatchalian said.