Butuan City- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Caraga and the local chief executives (LCEs) of the Kapit- Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan- Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services- National Community-Driven Development Program (KC-NCDDP) recipient municipalities sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) today at Almont Hotel and Inland Resort, Butuan City, for the 2014 implementation of the Php 711,110,450 -worth of community-led projects.

Deputy Regional Program Manager Ester V. Villamor revealed that thesaid amount will be utilized for community project implementation of which will be done by ordinary citizens under the supervision of DSWD, with the help of the local government units (LGUs).

Involved LGUs are the following: Buenavista, Jabonga, Kitcharao, Las Nieves, Remedio s T. Romualdez, Santiago, San Francisco (AdS), Santa Josefa, Veruela, Alegria, Bacuag, Burgos, Claver, Dapa, Del Carmen, General Luna, Gigaquit, Mainit, Malimono, Pilar, Placer, San Benito, San Francisco (AdN), San Isidro, Santa Monica, Sison, Socorro, Tagana-An, Tubod, Barobo, Cagwait, Carmen, Carrascal, Cortes, Hinatuan, Lanuza, Lianga, Lingig, Marihatag, Basilisa, Cagdianao, Dinagat, Libjo, Loreto (PDI), San Jose, and Tubajon.

Governor Johnny Pimentel of Surigao del Sur shared that the projects of DSWD which uses the Community-Driven Development (CDD) approach are indeed corrupt-free since the projects undergo processes anchored on the participatory, transparency, and accountability principles.

“The sub-projects of Kalahi-CIDSS in our province are all completed because there is a direct involvement of the community in the implementation process. Because of the sense of ownership, they assure its completion and sustainability.” Pimentel shared.

Mayor  Cristina Hemady Arcillas of Tubod, Surigao del Norte highlighted how the said project strengthened the Filipino values such as volunteerism and bayanihan.

“My experience in Kalahi-CIDSS as a project implementer opened many opportunities to me as a simple fisher folk. I have learned many things, and I realized the essence of being a volunteer and doing service to one’s community.” testified Samuel Silong, community volunteer in Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte.

Hon. Ricaredo Sajorga, Punong Barangay of Alipao, Alegria, Surigao del Norte, also shared that through the Kalahi-CIDSS project, the convergence of the local barangay officials and the community residents were deeply felt, and it indeed showed positive results in his barangay.

Meanwhile, Regional Director Mylah Faye Aurora B. Cariño of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Caraga expressed strong support to KC-NCDDP, as a scale-up program of the Kalahi-CIDSS project.

“The CDD projects work because the communities aren’t treated as beneficiaries, but as partners of development,” Cariño expressed.

Regional Director Lilibeth Famacion of the Department of Interior Local Government (DILG) also thanked the said project for responding to the needs of the barangays.

“This program will surely empower many people because of its strong sense of volunteerism,” said Famacion.

During the activity, DSWD-XIII Regional Director Minda B. Brigoli, CESO III challenged all the stakeholders namely the LGUs, the National Government Agencies (NGAs), the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the Academe, and the local media, to actively support the KC-NCDDP implementation in Caraga.

“We have heard highly-inspiring testimonials that the CDD approach of Kalahi-CIDSS really works and it had been successfully implemented because of the convergence efforts of the project’s stakeholders. With this, I encourage our partners to make this feat as epidemic as possible, so that we can contribute more in the development of this region,” emphasized Brigoli in her keynote speech.

Dubbed as Stakeholders’ Forum and Regional Launching of KC-NCDDP, the event also highlighted the unveiling of the official logo of KC-NCDDP and the symbolic palm painting of which the participants expressed their commitment through palm-marking with acrylic and canvas as mediums.

The Area Coordinators (ACs) of DSWD also showcased the achievements of Kalahi-CIDSS per province by way of booth presentation.

KC-NCDDP is a national poverty-reduction program of the national government under DSWD. This program which will be implemented from 2014 to 2019 aims to provide poor communities access to basic services and increase their participation in more inclusive local planning, budgeting, and implementation. ###( Social Marketing Unit/DSWD Field Office Caraga)