The Government funded 712 disaster mitigation sub-projects in Bicol from 2002 to present in response to the communities in Bicol who identified these as their priority.
A total of PhP1,062,110,051 was allocated to construct the said projects in 94 municipalities that will benefit more than 180,000 households.
Under the Kapit- Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS), a DSWD program that seeks to help alleviate poverty through community-driven development (CDD), 438 sub-projects are already completed while the rest of these are under construction with the direct management of the elected residents.
Residents receive technical assistance from DSWD, national government agencies (NGAs) and the local government units (LGUs) on how they can implement these by provision of trainings, seminars, monitoring visits and coaching sessions.
Communities submit project proposals to DSWD through the Municipal Inter-Barangay Forum (MIBF), a municipal activity that evaluates which proposal are funded through the Kalahi-CIDSS process. All proposals came from the result of the participatory situation analysis (PSA), a community research done by residents to identify the problems and solutions to their needs.
Of the PhP1,062,110,051, LGUs had already provided in-kind and cash contribution amounting to PhP98,460,085.24.
On the other hand, 16.27% of 4,376 Kalahi-CIDSS community-identified sub-projects are comprised of the following disaster-mitigation sub-projects:
| Community Sub-Project Type | Quantity | Kalahi-CIDSS Grant (PhP) | LGU Counterpart (PhP) |
| Box Culvert / Drainage Canal/ Flood Control / River Control (including Box Culvert/Drainage/Canal intended to reduce or prevent flooding) | 493 | 563,684,664 | 62,915,949.17 |
| Riprap Wall / Slope Protection / Erosion Control | 91 | 124,775,640.5 | 12,030,789.41 |
| Seawall | 107 | 249,321,793.7 | 20,718,768.47 |
| Spillway/Overflow Bridge | 21 | 25,867,867.87 | 2,794,578.188 |
| TOTAL | 712 | 963,649,966 | 98,460,085.24 |
| 1,062,110,051 | |||
Disaster-mitigation sub-projects breakdown per province:
| Province | Quantity | Municipalities | Kalahi-CIDSS Grant (PhP) | LGU Counterpart (PhP) |
| Albay | 63 | 10 | 84,171,564.97 | 12,166,141.31 |
| Camarines Norte | 71 | 11 | 107,329,114.3 | 6,140,000.75 |
| Camarines Sur | 291 | 34 | 386,547,680.9 | 37,660,882.99 |
| Catanduanes | 115 | 11 | 186,547847.2 | 26,708,940.17 |
| Masbate | 69 | 15 | 84,393,952.83 | 6,505,886.874 |
| Sorsogon | 103 | 13 | 114,659,805.9 | 9,278,233.136 |
| TOTAL | 712 | 94 | 963,649,966 | 98,460,085.24 |
| 1,062,110,051 | ||||
Biggest Kalahi-CIDSS sub-project in Bicol
The erosion control in Brgy. Magsaysay, Jovellar, Albay is the biggest Kalahi-CIDSS sub-project in Bicol serving 243 households. It amounts to PhP10,927,859.05 which was completed in March 15, 2013.
Most of the barangays in Jovellar can be found along Quipia River, making these areas prone to flooding each time the water overflows. There are even instances wherein the waters can reach as high as 10 to 50 feet high, submerging many areas.
The urban barangay of Magsaysay is greatly affected whenever the Quipia River overflows. It is close to losing most of its land area due to the erosion brought about by frequent flooding and strong current. Other affected areas include Sto. Niño, Aurora and Plaza.
“I am very thankful to them because we really need an erosion control mechanism,” Emily Morales, a resident, said.
Kalahi-CIDSS Expansion
Kalahi-CIDSS is supported by the Philippine Development Plan (2011-2016). Its expansion using the CDD approach in the country was approved last 18 January 2013. 101 poor municipalities in Bicol are under its expansion from 2014 to 2019 with a total of grant of Php4,497,448,178.
The development objective of Kalahi-CIDSS is to have barangays/communities of targeted municipalities become empowered to achieve improved access to services and to participate in more inclusive local planning, budgeting, and implementation.
“It will also be aligned into a program to support community-driven post-disaster response and development in Typhoon Yolanda-affected municipalities within provinces covered by Kalahi-CIDSS,” DSWD Dir. Arnel Garcia added.