KALAHI-CIDSS to complement services of Pantawid Pamilya

By Rachelle M. Nessia

Thursday 19th of April 2012

DUMAGUETE CITY, April 19 (PIA) -- With the national government’s poverty reduction program KALAHI-CIDSS expanding to Negros Oriental this year, the beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilya in the towns covered will see more improvements in their areas especially in infrastructure.

KALAHI-CIDSS or Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services aims to fund the construction of priority infrastructure projects in its coverage areas.

All 11 towns to benefit from KALAHI-CIDSS in Negros Oriental are also covered by the Pantawid Pamilya program, DSWD-7 Deputy Regional Project Manager Marilou Gallarde told the Philippine Information Agency in an interview.

Said towns are Ayungon, Bindoy, Jimalalud, Manjuyod, Vallehermoso, Mabinay, Basay, Dauin, Sta. Catalina, Pamplona, and Zamboanguita.

This will complement the social services already being carried out by Pantawid Pamilya or 4Ps, another anti-poverty program employed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Gallarde said.

One of the criteria set for a municipality to qualify for KALAHI-CIDSS is poverty incidence of 33 percent and above, similar to that of Pantawid Pamilya.

“KALAHI-CIDSS will support the social services that our 4Ps beneficiaries are already enjoying under Pantawid Pamilya,” said Gallarde.

She explained with 4Ps giving financial aid to send the recipients’ children to school, KALAHI-CIDSS can help provide classrooms or school buildings to give them easier educational access.

According to her, other projects that may be built under said program are day care centers, health stations, farm-to-market roads, solar dryers, and even access to electricity.

“These are support facilities that will further augment the living conditions of the Pantawid beneficiaires,” said Gallarde.

Mayors of the 11 towns identified to benefit from KALAHI-CIDSS signed on Tuesday a memorandum of agreement with DSWD, signaling the start of the poverty alleviation program in their areas.

For the first six months after the MOA signing, a rigorous “social preparation” process will be carried out in the barangays of said towns.

“This process involves educating the communities on how to identify the project that is most needed by their barangay,” said Gallarde.

Six barangay assemblies with 80 percent of the households in attendance are required before a village can finalize and submit a priority project for funding under KALAHI-CIDSS.

A municipal inter-barangay forum will then follow in every town during which each barangay will present and pitch their priority project.

A total budget of P103,050,000 is allocated for Negros Oriental under KALAHI-CIDSS.

Out of the total, the funding for each town for each year will be based on the following formula: P450,000 multiplied by the town’s number of barangays. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)