The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) shortlisted (9) local government units in the search for the 2^nd Gawad Listahanan awardees.

Gawad Listahanan is an award conferred to Local Government Units (LGUs) for providing services to the poor, disadvantaged, and vulnerable.

Last year, the 1^st Gawad Listahanan was awarded to Dalaguete, Cebu for their Local Government Institutional Support Services for Transformation Advancement (LISSTA), a scholarship program; Escalante City for their Indigency Program, which provides medical and burial assistance; and Ilocos Norte for their Millennium Development Goals (MDG) program, which includes scholarships, livelihood, and medical assistance.

Finalists for the 2^nd Gawad Listahanan are Jaen, Nueva Ecija, Sto. Domingo, Albay and Cabatuan, Iloilo for the Municipal Category; Baguio City, Bislig City, and Cebu City for the City Category; and Iloilo, Pampanga and Palawan for the Provincial Category.

These LGUs created programs that range from the provision of financial assistance and scholarships to skills enhancement and job facilitation.

Winners will be selected based on the number of beneficiaries of their locally-funded programs who are registered in the Listahanan database of poor families.

Aside from evaluating the program’s coverage of the Listahanan-identified poor, the awarding body will also evaluate the LGU’s compliance to the data sharing agreement which requires them to submit regular feedback on how they utilize the data and conduct activities to popularize the Listahanan.

“Since we are also conducting the 2^nd round of assessment this year, the support of the LGUs in the said activity will also be considered,” said Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman.

The awarding and announcement of winners will be made during the Annual Pagkilala sa Natatanging Kontribusyon sa Bayan Ko (PaNata Ko sa Bayan) Awards on January 28, 2016.

The awardee for each category will receive a plaque citing the highlights of their contribution and the significance of their partnership with the Department, along with a cash prize of P50,000.

Listahanan is an information management system that makes available to national government agencies, local government units, and other stakeholders a comprehensive list of poor families as basis for determining beneficiaries of their social protection programs and services.

Currently, the Listahanan has 1,252 data users, of which 1,099 are LGUs.