Butuan City – It has been a fruitful year for the government’s poverty alleviation project called KALAHI-CIDSS as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) presented its regional accomplishment for 2011 during the project’s yearend assessment activity.

“We will end the year with a lot to be proud of in terms of achieving the targets set forth by the DSWD central office,” Assistant Regional Director and KC Regional Project Manager Mita G. Lim proudly said.

Lim pertained to the region’s accomplishment in fully utilizing the original loan agreement of the Philippine government to the World Bank or the financial accounts for KALAHI-CIDSS 1 and completing all social processes involved in the implementation of the project.

The Regional Project Management Office also boasted its feat in delivering a hundred percent in fund disbursement this year with the total project grant of Php 49, 961, 738.75 downloaded by the central office.

 

Likewise, the LGUs were able to fully deliver their local cash counterpart (LCC) commitment in the amount of Php 16, 375, 939.51 which meant a great deal to the implementing agency.

 

“Delivering a hundred percent of the LCC commitment of the LGUs means that they are truly committed in the successful implementation of the project entailing no delays in the process,” said Monitoring and Evaluation Officer IV Edward John Ty on the dynamics of financial system of the project.

KALAHI-CIDSS funding works in a way that aside from the grant provided by the funding agency, the partner LGUs in the municipal and barangay levels share their LCCs or a 70 percent grant – 30 percent LCC sharing from both parties, respectively.

The total grant disbursed this year was released to 69 barangays with 69 sub-projects in 8 municipalities in the region.

These municipalities are Pilar, Socorro, and Gigaquit in Surigao del Norte; Libjo and Cagdianao in Province of Dinagat Islands; Veruela and Loreto in Agusan del Sur; and Jabonga in Agusan del Norte.

“This means that next year, Caraga region will experience a new day as the sub-projects built by KALAHI-CIDSS will be enjoyed by the thousands in far-flung areas and beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya,” Regional Director Mercedita P. Jabagat said.

Of the infrastructure projects that usually arise from the identified needs of the community, the three major types of sub-projects that were found to be what the barangays need are water systems, school buildings, and day care centers comprising 53 percent of the total sub-projects.

Lim announced that aside from the scaling-up and expansion of KALAHI-CIDSS next year, a number of other development projects like the AUSAID program of the Australian government and the rolling out of PAMANA have expressed funding for the region.

For this scaling-up the regional office is eyeing more jobs for the region which Lim expressed saying that they are “in full gear for 2012 and we will be adding more staff for the project.”

KALAHI-CIDSS  stands for Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services.### (Social Marketing Unit)