PSA participates in the 5th International and 8th National Conference on Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development

16 October 2024 - Summit Hotel, Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Central Office, represented by Community-Based Statistics Service (CBSS) Assistant National Statistician Kristine Joy S. Briones and PSA Regional Statistical Services Office VIII represented by Regional Director Wilma S. Perante attended the 5th International and 8th National Conference on Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development (iPOVCON) co-hosted by Samar State University and Southern Leyte State University. The PSA reaffirmed its unwavering commitment and support in Poverty Alleviation and Sustainable Development.

With the theme"Empowering Communities through Sustainable Solutions and Innovations: Harnessing Change for Inclusive Growth,"the iPOVCON showcased best practices and research from a range of higher education institutions, Local Government Units, frontline agencies, and private organizations. The keynote speech of PSA Undersecretary Claire Dennis S. Mapa, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General, on "Understanding and Interpreting Poverty Statistics in the Developing Countries" read by Regional Director Wilma S. Perante, emphasized that the PSA has become the backbone of the data-driven policies in the country. Through the Annual Poverty Indicators Survey, Family Income and Expenditure Survey, and Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS), among others, the PSA gathers and analyzes poverty-related data critical in generating accurate poverty profiles for the LGUs to formulate evidence-based strategies and develop more comprehensive interventions. He further stressed that "These statistics are not just numbers as they represent people, families, and communities. The more we understand about poverty, the better we can tailor our solutions to address its root causes and lift more people out of its grid."

ANS Briones' presentation on "Utilizing Community-Based Monitoring System for Effective Poverty Alleviation Programs, Programs and Policies" highlighted that poverty incidence varies per region and that there is no one solution to address it. Every city, municipality, and barangay has different experiences, different cultures, and different problems that need to be addressed and targeted by specific policies and programs at the local level.
She added that the CBMS can identify twenty-one (21) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators, which capture ten (10) out of the seventeen (17) SDGs, not only at the national level but also at the barangay level. These indicators will enable LGUs to see the situation at the barangay level, allowing them to track the pace of progress in their locality. As she stated, "Instead of spending a lot without knowing who your beneficiaries are, we can now target specific beneficiaries for more efficient use of government resources."

"The only way we can improve our poverty level is to have data and use it effectively. We are working hard to train our LGUs on data management, analysis, security, privacy and thematic mapping," ANS Briones explained as she called for collaboration with the state universities and colleges (SUCs). The PSA has available data and has pledged to collaborate and support the SUCs' researches and programs in creating modules for training on the utilization of the CBMS that are accessible to all LGUs in the country.

The PSA reaffirms its commitment to poverty alleviation and sustainable development by capacitating LGUs in the utilization of their CBMS data, greatly contributing to the nation's dedication to achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, especially the goal of poverty eradication (SDG 1).

- Community-Based Statistics Service, Censuses and Technical Coordination Office

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