CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA)–A total of 274,829 households in northern Mindanao are now benefiting from the community subprojects they completed with the help of the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office (DSWD)-10.
Subprojects included roads, electrification projects, and health stations, among others.
Through the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services National Community-Driven Development Program Additional Financing (KALAHI-CIDSS NCDDP AF), the DSWD was able to finish 628 subprojects in 42 municipalities in northern Mindanao.
DSWD reveals that improving road conditions is the top priority of communities, with 269 roads built out of 649 subprojects. Since the onset of the program in 2021, approximately 34 kilometers of road concreting projects have been completed.
Rural electrification is the second most important need, and 3,919 solar street lights have been put up in different towns in Region 10.
For 2021–2022, the program allocated more than P649 million worth of infrastructure investments in Region 10. The DSWD selects areas with a high poverty incidence for program implementation using government funding and loan proceeds.
The 2023 targets include 731 sub-projects expected to be delivered by the end of the semester. This year, grants for communities worth a total of P322 million will be given out in six more municipalities. The province of Bukidnon tops the list with the highest number of subprojects currently being implemented.
The program partners with municipal and barangay local government units in facilitating the community-driven development (CDD) approach to deliver the most-needed basic services.
In the second year of NCDDP AF, the program logged more than P101 million in cash counterparts from participating LGUs and is expected to increase under Phase 2. This time, the municipal grants are cut to 50%, and the LGUs pay for the rest of the money.
KALAHI-CIDSS NCDDP AF closes in December 2023, targeting the institutionalization of CDD in barangay development planning in partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
LGUs who have undergone KALAHI-CIDSS NCDDP and NCDDP AF will be oriented with DILG’s enhanced Local Governance Module that harmonizes CDD and DILG processes. The roll-out training will run from May to October.
DSWD also pushes for the institutionalization of CDD by law through the CDD Bill. It seeks that all national government agencies and local government units (LGUs) use the CDD approach in their community-based programs, projects, and activities.
The CDD Bill is one of the priority bills of DSWD in its legislative agenda to promote social protection by sustaining the gains of CDD.
Further, the Department aims to influence LGUs with CDD principles and elements in every KALAHI-CIDSS implementation. Mistaken as an infrastructure program, KALAHI-CIDSS’ development objective is to promote community empowerment where citizens work hand-in-hand with their local government to deliver basic services. It is achieved through meaningful participation in inclusive local planning, budgeting, and implementation.
Executive Order No. 443, Series of 1997, issued by former President Fidel V. Ramos, prompted the DSWD to implement CDD through the Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (CIDSS) program. Since then, different funding institutions have supported various CDD implementations through the different modalities of KALAHI-CIDSS.
Through the implementation of KALAHI-CIDSS NCDDP AF, the DSWD continues to fulfill development needs in Region 10 through small-scale but essential infrastructure in the community, improving the people’s quality of life and accelerating economic growth in their localities. (DSWD-10/PIA-10/Camiguin)
