RECOGNIZED. Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) national project management office OIC-Deputy National Program Manager for Support Didith Bosoen delivers her keynote address during the 8th Bayani Ka Award held at the Grand Xing Hotel in Iloilo City on Friday (July 5, 2024). She said the largest KALAHI portfolio -- the National Community-Driven Development Program-Additional Financing (NCDDP-AF)-- is closing this year, but they are working on a successor program to ensure that all social protection programs will continue with the help of the communities. (PNA photo by PGLena)
ILOILO CITY – Western Visayas is a recipient of 2,226 Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) sub-projects, spread in 94 local government units, worth PHP2.3 billion since 2021.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) data presented during the 8th Bayani Ka Award held at the Grand Xing Hotel in Iloilo City on Friday showed that the National Community-Driven Development Program-Additional Financing (NCDDP-AF) provided the highest portfolio with 1,863 sub-projects.
These are followed by KALAHI-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) projects implemented alongside the Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay (KKB), 185; the Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Program (PMNP), 148; and Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA), 20.
KALAHI-CIDSS national project management office officer-in-charge Deputy National Program Manager for Support Didith Bosoen, in her keynote address, recognized the role of local government units (LGUs) that she called the lifeline.
“We are successful as a program because of our lifeline. These are our partner local government units who provided us with the technical guidance and resources that played a significant role in the successful implementation of the program,” she said.
Bosoen said that while the NCDDP-AF will be closing this year, she encouraged implementers to look at the future with optimism and determination.
“Our work is far from over. We still have to hurdle many challenges to deliver the remaining task and ensure that no remaining sub-project is left behind,” she said.
Bosoen said the advocacy on Community-Driven Development (CDD) will not stop in 2024 with the closure of the NCDDP-AF because the department will be working for the CDD institutionalization.
She said they are also working on a successor program, the "Panahon ng Pagkilos (time for action)," aimed to strengthen local capacities for participatory climate resilience planning and deliver action in vulnerable communities.
Bosoen said it will be funded by a USD700 million loan from the World Bank (WB) to be implemented in partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Climate Change Commission to kick off in 2025.
“This project will work toward the enhancement of the local climate change action plan of LGUs and support them in achieving the required competencies for the Seal of Good Local Governance. It will also help capacitate local governments to be able to access the People Survival Fund,” she added.
Meanwhile, DSWD regional director Carmelo Nochete, in his message during the event, said the Bayani Ka Award is intended to acknowledge the hard work of volunteers, who have reached close to 57,000 in the last four years.
“The Bayani Ka Award is intended to acknowledge the hard work of local everyday heroes who put their communities before themselves. Community volunteers are the backbone of our KALAHI-CIDDS implementation,” he said. (PNA)
