Caraga- The municipalities of Bunawan, Prosperidad, Rosario, Talacogon, and Trento in the province of Agusan del Sur are set to start this year the implementation of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Already on board last year, the Kalahi-CIDSS program, or the National Community-Driven Development Program (NCDDP), is implemented in the forty-six (46) municipalities in Caraga region.

The aforementioned 5 municipalities add to the list of identified municipalities which are recipients of the said anti-poverty program of DSWD.

For CY 2015, a total amount of Php79,797,950 will be utilized by the 5 towns to complete community sub-projects by way of the community-driven development (CDD) approach used by the Program.

The grant is divided into the following: Bunawan (Php14,992,800), Prosperidad (Php20,000,000), Rosario (Php13,398,000), Talacogon (Php14,889,600), and Trento (Php16,517,550).

“In the CDD approach, the recipient communities will undergo the Community Empowerment Activity Cycle (CEAC) where the residents of the communities get to decide the sub-projects that they most need, and they will be entrusted to manage the grant funds in implementing their opted projects,” said Regional Director Minda B. Brigoli.

She further bared that the local government units (LGUs) of the province, municipalities, and barangays are also involved in the process for they will be required to provide a local counterpart contribution (LCC), in-cash or in-kind.

While Kalahi-CIDSS follows an open menu system which means that communities are given the opportunity to propose whatever type of sub-project will best address their needs, barring those that are identified in the Negative list, the sub-projects are expected to fall into the categories namely water systems, school buildings, health stations, day care centers, electrifications, foot bridges, pathways, access roads, pre-and post-harvest facilities, irrigation systems, flood control systems, and environmental protection and conservation community projects.

Assistant Regional Director Mita G. Lim, Kalahi-CIDSS regional program manager, also disclosed that along the implementation process, Area Coordinating Teams (ACTs) are deployed in the municipalities to assist, facilitate, and provide needed technical assistance to the communities.

“The ACTs, which are composed of an area coordinator, a technical facilitator, community empowerment facilitators, and finance analysts, are hired by DSWD to ensure the efficient and effective program implementation,” Lim added.

Recently, the regional management of Kalahi-CIDSS had a forum with the LGUs of the 5 towns for orientation and leveling-off as to the guidelines and requirements for Program engagement. The said activity was held at Paseo Suites, San Francisco, Agusan del Sur.

The Kalahi-CIDSS program is one of the core poverty-reduction programs of DSWD which primarily aims to provide poor communities access to services and increase their participation in more inclusive local planning, budgeting, and implementation. ###