The Department of Social Welfare and Development Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS) activated the Disaster Response Operations Procedure (DROP) to respond to the impact of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) crisis.

The DROP was triggered by Proclamation No. 922, declaring a State of Public Health Emergency to facilitate the mobilization of resources, to ease the processes including procurement of critical logistics and supplies.

“Due to community quarantine enforced in the past two (2) months, the program opted to shift the mode of implementation from LGU-led to DROP which is Kalahi-CIDSS’ temporary procedure for program implementation in the context of emergency or disaster situations,” Director Arnel Garcia, Regional Director of DSWD Field Office V said.

In Bicol Region, the program targets to implement DROP in 15 municipalities.

With the implementation of DROP, it will provide a resource to augment to the Municipal Local Government Unit (MLGU) and Barangay Local Government Unit (BLGU) in providing assistance during the management of COVID-19 crisis response in the community.

It will also provide basic services to the barangay in coordination with the BLGU through the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committee (BDRRMC) and Barangay Sub-Project Management Committee (BSPMC) and will ensure that the available resources provided will be maximized and will respond to the identified needs of the community.

Director Garcia also added that DROP is a modified Community Empowerment Activity Cycle (CEAC) wherein each stage is simplified and fast-tracked to hasten the process of approval of sub-projects and its implementation while still following the basic principles of Community-Driven Development (CDD) approach.

The projects that will be identified by the communities will be in accordance with the program and the Department of Health (DOH) standards and protocols.

DSWD Kalahi-CIDSS is a poverty alleviation program that uses the CDD approach that helps communities in poor municipalities to identify challenges along poverty, make informed decisions and gives control of resources to address local poverty. /ramsertan/