Poverty database bill hurdles House committees

A SUBSTITUTE bill establishing a data collection system for welfare beneficiaries, has been approved by two committees at the House of Representatives.

House Bill (HB) 8217, or the Consolidated Poverty Data Collection (CPDC) System Act will set up the data collection effort at local government unit (LGU) level. The bill said the database is an “economic and social tool towards the formulation and implementation of poverty alleviation and development programs.”

The bill names the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) as the lead implementing agency, in coordination with the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Department of Interior and Local Government.

LGUs will serve as the primary data collectors, which will require the deployment of additional PSA statisticians at the provincial level.

Data collected by LGUs is to be transmitted to the PSA, which will compile them in a national CPDC System databank. LGUs may maintain their own CPDC database for planning and program implementation at the local level.

The bill has also provided measures to protect the privacy of participants and requires voluntary participation by individuals.

It provides for financial assistance to low-income LGUs.

“Fourth, fifth, and sixth class LGUs shall be given assistance in the first three years of implementation of the act,” according to the bill.

The bill consolidates HBs 4700 and 5588, and was reported out by the Committees on Poverty Alleviation and Appropriations to the Rules Committee. —