Camarines Sur press was engaged in the one-day monitoring visit last October 1, 2013 to DSWD’s community projects in towns where Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) is currently being implemented.

There were ten media from broadcast, print and TV who joined the team of DSWD during the trip to Bombon and Gainza, Camarines Sur, heading first to two barangays in the latter with completed Kalahi-CIDSS subprojects which are water system level II and day care center in Pagao and San Francisco, respectively.

They then proceeded to Gainza and visited the community projects namely health center, drainage canals, production center for handicraft and training center for mothers and out-of-school youth (OSY).

They came face-to-face with all the key players of the project, namely, local residents, Kalahi-CIDSS volunteers and local government officials (community and municipal level) who submitted themselves for an interview with the media discussing the status of implementation in terms of how the people managed their funds and other resources.

During the courtesy call with Mayor William A. Abilay of Gainza, he said that the people decided what project would solve their urgent need in the community which was addressed by Kalahi-CIDSS.

“Since our town is considered to be a low-lying area, most of the communities agreed to propose drainage canals for funding under Kalahi-CIDSS. The municipality has provided Php986,988.38 as its counterpart to the project,” he said.

On the other hand, Jesus Gipanao, a volunteer in Pagao, Bombon, explained to the media how the whole process worked for them in their village.

“Kinonsulta ang mga tao sa paagi ning barangay assembly kung sain nagkasararo kami na patubig talaga ang kaipuhan mi [the people were consulted through community assembly and we have agreed that what we really need is water system],”he said.

Media Lauds Kalahi-CIDSS
During the closing activity in Brgy. Cagbunga, the last destination, the members of the press conveyed their appreciation to the project.

Jane Betito of Radyo ng Bayan noticed the transformation in governance. From top-to-bottom approach, she said that it has now employed the participation of the people which entails accountability over their projects and has maximized the use of government funds.

“Sa likod kang mga kontrobersiya na nadadangog sa mga bareta, ugwa pa kitang nahihiling na positibo pa. Sa paagi kaini, nailing mi man na may ahensya pa ning gobyerno na dapat pagtawanan pa ning pondo para maipadagos ang pagtabang [despite of the controversies over the news, there are still positive ones. We have witnessed that there are deserving government agencies to where we can entrust our money],” Pros Atule of DWRN said.

The field visit gave the media the opportunity to monitor Kalahi-CIDSS projects and also gave them the chance to be exposed to the real situation of poor communities.

“Dakulang bagay ini ta bako lang sa istorya kundi mismong nailing mi ang kamugtakan kang mga project [This is crucial because it’s no longer a hearsay but we have witnessed the project,” Arnold Salcedo of DWRN said.

Other members of the delegation were composed of Eric Avila of DZGE, Danilo Abad of PIA Camarines Sur, Mar Barroga of RPN and Mylce Mella of ABS-CBN Naga.

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 (4Ps) and Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).

Kalahi-CIDSS was first implemented in Camarines Sur in 2005 and to date, has provided over 200 million grants to 483 poor communities in the province.