The DSWD trained 21,655 residents of 591 barangays in Bicol region on managing community-based subprojects (SPs) under Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) project.

Currently, the first cycle of the project which started in 2012, is being implemented in five (5) provinces namely Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Sorsogon and Catanduanes with 10,831; 3,203; 3,931 and 1520 of local residents trained, respectively. 2,348 of these are Pantawid Pamilya Parent Leaders (PLs) who are actively involved in the whole process of the project.

“Prior to the actual implementation, appropriate community trainings are provided to selected project volunteers,” DSWD 5 Director Arnel Garcia said.

DSWD-hired workers with the help of other government agencies and local government units (LGUs) train them in basic community finance, procurement, project development, operations and maintenance with an annual funding of Php27,000 for each barangay from Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and World Bank (WB).

The elected group of community residents or called Barangay Subproject Management Committee (BSPMC) is trained on ensuring proposed community SPs such as roads, SPs, health stations, fishing boats, cable bridges, schools, day care centers, DRR-related SPs and water systems are completed and maintained. These trainings safeguard transparency, accountability and participation of community implementers with the engagement of the LGU at the barangay, municipal and provincial level.

According to Crispina Cacidilla, a volunteer of Brgy. Malbong in Gainza, Camarines Sur, she and other volunteers attended the project proposal preparation workshop. They were able to construct a Production Center for Handicraft with an amount of 745,030.08 last 2013.

“Bilang sarong housewife, maogma ako ta nakatabang ako sa kapwa ko. Nakatabang ang mga training na inagihan mi sa Kalahi-CIDSS [As a housewife, I’m happy to serve my neighborhood. Those trainings are helpful],” Crispina said.

Through the Barangay Assembly, more than 20 members of the BSPMC are elected for each community and composed of the following committees: Participatory Situation Analysis (PSA) Team, Barangay Representation Team (BRT), Project Preparation Team (PPT), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) Team, Barangay Fact Finding Committee, Project Implementation Team (PIT), Procurement Team (PT), Audit and Inventory Team (AIT), Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) and Finance Committee.

What is Kalahi-CIDSS?

Kalahi-CIDSS is a community-driven development (CDD) project in the Philippines which strongly advocates the involvement of local communities in the design and implementation of development projects to address the issue of poverty in the country. CDD is a globally recognized strategy for achieving service delivery, poverty reduction, and good governance outcomes. It aims to improve local governance by employing the participation of the people in the communities in the development process.

Community residents consensually decide on what type of poverty-reduction projects they prioritize for funding based from the collective analysis of their needs. Community proposals can vary from public goods/access projects, enterprise or livelihood projects or human development projects.

It is one of the core social protection programs of DSWD along with Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (Pantawid) and Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).