ILOILO City – Households across Western Visayas are being urged to participate truthfully and fully in the 2027 Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS), as incomplete information and refusals could undermine the government’s identification of families needing poverty-alleviation and social-assistance programs.
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Region 6 director Nelida Amolar said CBMS findings are among the government’s primary bases for determining which households are poor or near-poor and may qualify for assistance.
“Most of the government’s poverty alleviation programs use the results of the Community-Based Monitoring System in identifying beneficiaries,” Amolar said.
She appealed to residents to cooperate with authorized enumerators when the survey is conducted next year, stressing that complete and accurate responses are crucial to producing a reliable socioeconomic picture of Western Visayas.
Amolar said previous CBMS operations encountered households that declined to be interviewed because they were busy or reluctant to disclose information about their economic condition.
“We hope that more people will cooperate in the next CBMS because the information they provide is important in planning government programs,” she said.
The PSA official clarified, however, that participation alone does not guarantee inclusion in financial-aid or other social-protection programs.
“The survey results still have to undergo evaluation, and households must meet the poverty threshold and other program-specific requirements before they can qualify as beneficiaries,” Amolar explained.
The CBMS gathers updated household-level information that local government units and national agencies use in evidence-based planning, budgeting and the implementation of development programs.
The data enable authorities to identify community needs, target limited government resources and formulate interventions for vulnerable sectors.
Amolar said enumerators placed blue stickers on houses that had completed the interview during previous CBMS rounds to indicate successful participation.
She advised residents to entertain only authorized enumerators carrying proper identification./PN
