SAN JOSE, Occidental Mindoro (PIA) – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Mimaropa has completed ₱877 million worth of sub-projects in the region under the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI CIDSS) program.
KALAHI CIDSS is one of the poverty-alleviation programs of the government that uses a community-driven development approach where the beneficiaries, called community volunteers (CV), take charge of the sub-project from the decision-making, planning, and execution, including the procurement process.
“Ang KALAHI po kasi, ito ay ang pagsasakapangyarihan ng ating mamamayan, kung saan, ang mamamayan ang siyang umiisip ng mga proyekto na makatutugon sa kanilang mga pangangailangan,” DSWD MIMAROPA Regional Director Leonardo C. Reynoso said during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas on June 11 in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro.
(KALAHI is the empowerment of the citizens where they are at the forefront of thinking of the project that will address their needs.)
He added that this is in contrast to the usual procedure where the government spearheads the process of problem-solving in the communities. The project teaches the people to be proactive in finding solutions to challenges they face, with the KALAHI staff on the side to provide support and guidance.
Guillermo Caridad from Brgy. Poblacion, Magsaysay, shared how the program empowered and provided him opportunities to be more involved in their community.
“Noong hindi pa ako nae-empower sa [ganitong gawain], maaaring naririnig ko, pero bale wala naman sa akin ‘yang mga ganyang [proyekto]. Pero simula noong naging volunteer ako, doon ko na natutunan ang proseso ng pagkakaroon ng proyekto dito sa aming komunidad na nakakatulong sa amin at mas nalaman ko kung paano ako makakatulong,” Caridad shared.
(Before I got empowered with this kind of work, I may have heard of these projects but it meant nothing to me. But when I became a volunteer, I learned the process of having projects that help our community and enabled me to participate in it.)
He added that the program helped develop stronger cooperation between the barangay local government unit and the CVs, as the KALAHI-CIDSS program is known in their community to foster transparency and integrity in its processes.
Reynoso reported that since President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s administration, the region has completed 1,124 sub-projects.
In addition to the ₱877,873,057.82 fund from the project, the local government units contributed a total of ₱236,373,824.63 as their counterpart.
Locally, the program has helped provide barangay health stations equipped with medical supplies, solar street lights, other infrastructure projects such as sea wall, concreting of access roads, classrooms and footbridges.
The KALAHI CIDSS was launched in 2012 and is on its last leg this year. (DSG/PIA Mimaropa-Occidental Mindoro)
