The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will be signing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Albay Governor Joey Sarte Salceda in Legazpi City on April 24, 2013 for the pilot testing of the enhancement of provincial local government unit (PLGU) engagement in Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS).

Kalahi-CIDSS is one of the three core poverty alleviation programs of the DSWD. It uses the community-driven development (CDD) approach, which entrusts citizens with the opportunity and responsibility to analyze their problems, generate solutions, prioritize and implement their prioriy projects.  In CDD, citizens make important decisions and control project resources. Kalahi-CIDSS train people to become active participants in decision-making and in pushing for their development.
The pilot testing is expected to provide insights on the roles of the PLGU in the implementation of CDD. The information will be used to identify the engagement of the PLGU in the National Community-Driven Development Program (NCDDP), the scaling up of Kalahi-CIDSS.

The NCDDP will increase the current coverage of Kalahi-CIDSS from 368 to 900 municipalities, thereby expanding its reach from 50% to 100% of the poorest municipalities in the country from 2013 to 2018.
Albay was chosen as one of the pilot provinces because of the PLGU’s positive track record in supporting past implementation of Kalahi-CIDSS in the province.  Since 2004, the total local counterpart contribution of the Provincial Local Government Unit to Kalahi-CIDSS municipalities for their community projects has reached over PhP 36 million, one of the highest provided by a PLGU in the Project.

Albay is also a recipient of the Seal of Good Housekeeping from the DILG and demonstrates strong capacity to lead a CDD-based implementation.
Aside from Albay, the province of Compostela Valley, will also be partnering with DSWD and  DILG for this pilot initiative.

According to DSWD Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Juliano-Soliman, the MOA signing formalizes the partnership of the DSWD with the PLGU of Albay, along with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the municipal LGUs who will participate in the pilot.

“CDD requires active citizenship and responsive governance.  In the past, we have successfully shown that communities working with their barangay and municipal LGUs to address local poverty needs results to responsive, low cost and sustainable sub-projects that improve access of the poor to basic social services.  We want to enhance and be more purposive in  the involvement of, and  engagement with PLGUs as they can provide the essential link to CDD by increasing the available resources for the poor and by helping communities link up their projects to national priorities,” said Soliman.

The pilot project will test a participatory process of planning, budgeting, implementation, and monitoring to choose and execute projects from poor municipalities, giving priority to those that require provincial or municipal-wide strategy in order to address priorities in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), disaster risks, and economic development through a PLGU-led modality.  Grants will be provided to support these projects.