As of January 15, 2011 of the total 13,570 target households to be surveyed in Western Visayas only 6,726 households were surveyed which is almost fifty percent (50%) of the target. In Iloilo City, 3,576 were surveyed that is forty-seven percent (47%) of the target 7,570 households covering six (8) coastal barangays. These were Sto. Niño Sur, Sto. Niño Norte, Calaparan, in Arevalo Distrct and Calumpang, San Juan, Boulevard, West Habog-Habog and North Baluarte in Molo District. On the other hand, a total of 3150 households were surveyed which is 53% of the 6,000 target in Bacolod City covering only two barangays namely: Barangay 35 and Barangay Singcang.
Bacolod surveyed communities have relatively bigger number of households per barangay compared with Iloilo City because of the following reasons:
a) The spatial area of barangays in Bacolod City are comparatively bigger than that of Iloilo City. Barangay 35 for instance is composed of eight (8) major puroks which are subdivided into different zones. Five (5) of which are located along the riverbanks and the foreshore areas namely: Purok Malipayon, Purok Mapinalanggaon, Purok Masinadyahon, Purok Maabi-abihon and Purok Mag-hiliugyon. On the other hand, Barangay Singcang is composed of 4 major sitios namely: : Singcang, Magsungay, Calong-calong and Airport. Furthermore, these sitios are further subdivided into 36 minor puroks. Fourteen of which are located along the riverbanks and foreshore namely: Sigay, Talaba, Sisi, Batad, Greenshell, Tahong, Litob, Mars, Neptune, Kabulakan 1 and 2 and Sampaguita 1, 2 and 3.
b) The barangay’s geography is characterized with relatively extended channels of rivers and creeks coupled by a wide stretch of shoreline that makes the area highly susceptible to perennial flooding. This geographic characteristic made the area ideal for building fish ponds. But because of the socio-economic developments within Bacolod City which has posted better work opportunities as well as its potential for real estate development, these areas where converted into residential land. Those who cannot afford to buy land were forced to reclaim areas in the riverbanks and the shoreline by dumping garbage and land filling.
II. Community Enumerators
Currently, a total of 31 community surveyors and mapper were mobilized in Western Visayas, 12 in Iloilo City and 19 in Bacolod City. Most of them are members of the local federation (like in the case of Bacolod City) while surveyors in Iloilo City are members of network/affiliates.
In both cities, a spot mapper was tasked to draw a sketch or mapped out the surveyed structure in the community. The structural maps are helpful tools in recording and locating households that don’t have qualified respondents or were out during the actual survey (ODS). These maps will likewise aid the federation in determining the risks and vulnerabilities faced by the community due to their geographical location.
Utilizing the existing partnership, the federation in Iloilo City was able to tap the assistance of the ICUPAO wherein 5 personnel from the same office were mobilized as enumerator and spot mappers. In Bacolod City, on the other hand, import volunteer community development workers from Iloilo City did the spot mapping. The supportive role of the local government units, both in barangays and city level, has been very crucial and visible in this citywide undertaking in two cities.
III. Experiences, Learnings and Insights Gained
The month of December saw improvements in terms of the pacing in the conduct of survey. Table 1 shows significant increase in the number of surveyed households per month. This increase is due to the following reasons:
a) Associating Community Survey as a Political Agenda
Preceding months saw pre and post election issues which have associated the survey initiative with the politicians’ strategy to assess their probability of winning the prior to the election and to determine who did not vote for them after the election. This issue has led to scepticisms of some households regarding the intention or purpose of the community survey. After barangay officials were formally announced and proclaimed in public by December, issues associating community survey to politics have gradually become silent. For some newly-elected officials, they considered the survey as an opportunity to collect and update existing data within their locality. The barangay counterpart was the provision of “Tanods or Barangay Watchmen” and and Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) who served as guides also took part in the conduct of survey.. This strategy has likewise hastened the enumeration process because of the BHWs and Tanods familiarity and “authority” in the area. Testimonies of community surveyors have attested that after the election, it was easier to approach and persuade survey respondents compared with the previous months. In fact, some households who previously refused to be surveyed became interested and even started yearning to be surveyed.
b) Mastery of Enumerators with the Survey Forms
The regular coaching and feed backing sessions of community surveyors have been helpful in improving their skills in conducting interviews. Surveyors became more critical and observant with the inconsistencies regarding the information given by their respondents. They likewise became more critical about their fellow member’s accomplished survey forms and method of conducting interviews as they started to feedback on the mistakes they made and exchange, check and edit each other’s survey forms before submitting it to over-all survey in-charge/coordinator for validation and verification. Editing of survey forms became easier as survey in-charge found lesser mistakes and inconsistencies with the information filled up by surveyors in the form. Regular feed backing activities can also draw out some sort of analysis from the surveyors on some issues that they have encountered in a particular locality which must be urgently addressed. (E.g. on land tenure issues, sanitary and housing conditions of households in riverbank and foreshore areas). The easier the editing, the faster is the encoding process.
c) Development of Different Survey Approaches, Methods and Strategies
1. Adapting Approaches with Different Respondents
How a surveyor approaches his/her respondent is one of the critical parts in initiating an interview. During actual surveys, community surveyors encounter different types of personalities that they need to adjust with. A subjective approach is being utilized by the community surveyors so as to suit with the mood and subconscious prerequisite of the respondents (shorter survey interval, tangible benefits of the survey, (oftentimes monetary in value or relief goods like canned products and rice) and demonstration of courtesy are some of the important things that surveyors should be cautious about.
One of the major parts of the interview which makes it lengthy and time consuming is the introduction part (stating surveyor’s name, the implementing organizations and its purpose in conducting the survey. In most cases, in order to hasten the interview, surveyors only made the introductions when asked by the respondents. These experiences were prevalent in Bacolod City primarily because HPFPI-PACSII is not yet a familiar and recognized organization in the area. Oftentimes, lack of explanation about the survey and the organization led to more inquiries and doubts especially when surveyors are unable to provide a comprehensive answer. This is one of the main reasons why the surveyor should always be coached and reoriented. During regular meetings with the surveyors, information such as the survey objective and HPFPI-PACSII background are being taught in order to clearly and effectively introduce HPFPI-PACSII initiatives in Bacolod and to establish a credible name in the city as the federation starts its initial engagement with the city government and the urban poor communities.
2. Collaborative Efforts in Developing an Enumeration Strategy
One way of developing an effective enumeration strategy is by doing it together with community surveyors and the barangay officials. For one, community surveyors will be applying this during the actual survey and they will be important in determining its efficiency. On the other hand, the enumeration teams in Western Visayas have linked with local officials (barangay and city level) because of their familiarity with the area and their constituents situated in foreshore and the riverbanks.
· Letter informing the Purpose of the Survey
HPFPI Western Visayas ensures the coordination among and between these stakeholders. Prior to the conduct of survey, a letter informing the city and barangay officials are being distributed requesting support in the form of guides and additional surveyors through Tanods and BHWs and setting of appointment for courtesy call so as to lay down the objectives of the survey, soliciting recommendations for a better survey strategy and identifying the survey date. In some cases, as a counterpart the barangay also provides snacks or lunch for the community surveyors.
· Surveyors’ ID
Survey in-charge also ensures that community surveyors are wearing personal identification cards and copy-furnished them with the approved endorsement letter from the city mayor. These are important considering that there are instances where in the credibility and legality of the survey are being questioned which is specifically true in the case of enumeration in Iloilo and Bacolod City.
· Surveyors’ Daily Monitoring Report
In order to secure a list of surveyed households per day, the federation designed and utilized a community surveyor’s daily report wherein the surveyor’s are required to list down the names of the household heads with the corresponding household number per set of survey forms. The surveyors under the supervision of survey coordinator/in-charge will then categorize each survey form represented by the household head’s name as to whether it is duly accomplished, respondent is Out During Survey (ODS), respondent refused to be interviewed (Refused) or without a qualified respondent (WOQR). The use of this tool is very useful in monitoring the total number of household surveyed per day as well as in determining the names of household heads that are out during survey (ODS) and are subject for a “callback” which means an actual revisit to the household for the purpose of interviewing a household member who were not interviewed during the first visit. In the case of HPFPI Western Visayas, “callbacks” are guided by the rule of three which means that surveys are done with only three attempts. If on the third visit, the household still don’t have a respondent or a qualified respondent, it will be categorized as a refusal which means that they will not be forced to participate in the survey and will not have a record on HPFPI’s database regarding vulnerable and high risk urban settlements but still be included in the structural map.
Financially, community surveyor’s daily report can be considered as a support document or attachment in disbursing enumerator’s allowance. Likewise, the report will be helpful in consolidating a monthly progress report especially with regards to an update of the total number of households surveyed, ODS and refusals. Moreover, through this form, survey coordinators or in-charge will be able to monitor the experiences, specifically the problems or challenges encountered by the community surveyors.
III. Issues, Challenges and Solutions Formulated so far...
a) Unsafe Survey Areas
Community surveyors are constantly faced with the dangers posed by the highly risky and vulnerable location of the target households. The main priority area for the conduct of community survey in Iloilo and Bacolod City are those located in foreshore areas and riverbanks. There are instances wherein community surveyors have been stranded in an elevated house located in the foreshore due to high tide; instances wherein they have to cross brittle and very narrow bridges and dikes just to proceed to the next household to be surveyed. Some of the community surveyors have almost became victims of thieves, considering that most of the survey areas are highly congested and are home to some robbers and other illegal activities.
Some of the mechanisms developed by the Survey Team in Western Visayas in order to address the aforementioned problems were as follows:
1) 3:00 PM Mandatory Pull-Out- it has been agreed together with the community surveyors that regardless of the situation and condition within the area, survey will immediately stop when the clock strikes at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Such may lessen the probability of experiencing possible troubles or problems with drunkards or community residents under the influenced of alcoholic liquors.
2) “All for One, One for All” or “Buddy- Buddy” Policy - Community surveyors work as a team in order to completely survey target households. The team cannot pull out from the survey area if there is still a single surveyor who has not finished his/her survey. Survey coordinators/in-charge are the ones ensuring adherence to this rule.
3) In cases where houses are located in high risk areas, male community surveyors usually take charge of doing the household survey. It’s one way of prioritizing women’s security and not to highlight gender or stereotyping issues in the process.
b) Absence of Spot/Structural Mapper
Spot maps are one of the important survey outputs that the team needs to secure during and after the conduct of community surveys.
One important solution made by HPFPI Western Visayas in order to address this problem is to identify and train potential spot mappers among Iloilo City’s community surveyors. At present, one of Iloilo’s community surveyors take charge of spot mapping during surveys. The spot mappers from ICUPAO then made an arrangement to check the maps once or twice a week in order to verify and validate the factuality of the details drawn and stated on the map. After the survey in one or two barangays, spot mappers from ICUPAO will finalize the maps together with the community surveyor who substituted them.
c) Editing of Survey Forms- in Western Visayas, in order to claim enumerator’s allowance community surveyors need to make sure that their survey forms are duly edited and approved by the survey in charge. Editing of survey forms usually takes two to three days because of the considerably bigger number of surveyors vis-a-vis the number of editors. In order to help with the editing of the survey forms, community surveyors usually edit each other’s survey forms. After which, those in charge of approving the accuracy of the forms assess not only the completeness and consistency of the information written on the form but also assess community surveyors editing skills before disbursing their allowances. In the long run, community surveyors identified with good editing skills were requested to become editors. These surveyors turned editors are mostly registered nurses who decided to join the survey while waiting for the approval of their employment abroad. With the help of these surveyors, time spent on editing was shortened from three (3) days to one (1) day and aside from these, the assistance they render is voluntary and free of charge.
d) Biases and Misinformation of the Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) – one strategy initiated by the survey team, particularly in Bacolod City is tapping of additional surveyors from the barangay through the BHWs. This is important especially in cases when respondents are out during survey (ODS). Although this is not being observed in Iloilo, they find this strategy commendable especially because the BHWs are familiar with the specific location of every household and ideally, they will serve as “sweeper”, that is, in charge of doing interviews with “un-surveyed” households based on the list provided by the spot mapper.
On the negative side, it was observed that the BHWs have some biases when it comes to selecting their respondents. BHWs sometimes refuse to interview those households who are not their political allies in the past barangay election. In other instances, it was also observed that the BHWs, in order to encourage respondents, give promises relating to housing. Regular coaching and feed backing session as stated earlier is one ideal venue for correcting this mistake. Enumerators are being taught ways on how to manage their respondents’ expectations.
e) Insufficient Budget for Survey in Bacolod City- As mentioned earlier, in Bacolod City, a total of 2551 households which is forty two (42%) of its 6000 target have been surveyed within two barangays alone. At the end of December, the remaining budget for the community survey is thirty four to thirty five thousand pesos only (34,000-35,000) and considering the bulk of urban poor settlements spread throughout the riverbanks and foreshore areas of its 61 barangays the budget for enumeration in Bacolod is definitely not enough to reach the 6,000 target households and to come up with a more comprehensive and accurate information about Bacolod’s urban poor. Although this may be the case, the community survey in Bacolod had at least provided a bird’s eye view regarding the density of urban poor settlements in the city as well as a sneak peak of the problems relating to security of land tenure, lack of projects or programs which address urban poor community needs and the geographical characteristics of Bacolod City vis-a-vis the vulnerabilities of informal settlements due to their location.
f) Absence of Standards and Guidelines for the City-wide Community Survey - Based on the regular feed backing session and meetings of the survey team, there is a need to review and evaluate some information stated on the survey form. Particularly, it was found out that surveyors find difficulty in classifying occupations as to what category it belongs. For instance, instead of combining professional and technical into one category, we might as well provide one category for professional and provide specific qualification and requirement. We might as well provide separate category for associate professionals and technicians. We can also add service workers together with the sales workers category, and so on and so forth. In other words, there is therefore a need to come up with a concrete and proper definition of each occupational category.
One of HPFPI-PACSII’s main objectives in conducting community survey within various HPFPI Regions is to come up with a database about the informal settlers in the country. Considering the nationwide scope of the survey especially in data analysis, there is a need to come up with guidelines or standards regarding the processes/steps, important concepts, and communication flow strategy to ensure a consistent survey result. Generating a survey module or manual will help standardize survey operations or implementation and ensure data quality and consistency.
No comments:
Post a Comment