Population census covers homeless persons in Bacolod

BACOLOD CITY - The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) included 127 homeless individuals here in the total population count under the 2024 Census of Population-Community-Based Monitoring System (POPCEN-CBMS). The midnight census conducted by two teams of enumerators on Sept. 12 surveyed 91 males and 36 females staying on the sidewalks around the city. "We also conduct census for the homeless since everyone should be counted. They are also part of the country's population," Diesah Biaoco, supervising statistical specialist of PSA-Negros Occidental, said in an interview on Tuesday. Two teams of enumerators were deployed with the assistance of the Bacolod City Police Office Mobile Patrol Unit. The first team covered the areas along the Bacolod City public plaza and the San Sebastian Cathedral, as well as those on Rizal, Locsin, Luzuriaga, Araneta, Libertad, and Lopez-Jaena Sts., and L...