THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) started implementing the Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) last month in the provinces of Bohol and Siquijor.
The Kalahi-CIDSS poverty reduction program aims to cover 12 towns in Bohol and two towns in Siquijor.
These municipalities include Danao, Bien Unido, Buenavista, Getafe, Talibon, Ubay, San Miguel, Carmen, Pilar, Mabini, Carlos P. Garcia, and Trinidad in Bohol and Enrique Villanueva and Siquijor in Siquijor.
With the $120 million funding from US Millennium Challenge Corp., the program involves the implementation of 454 community sub-projects in 14 municipalities covering 349 barangays, each getting P500,000.
These projects include bridges, common service facilities, day care centers, drainage systems, electrification, irrigation systems, health stations, multi-purpose buildings, post-harvest facilities, roads, schools and water systems.
DSWD Regional social marketing officer Kaye Pantinople said the program has launched recently the local government unit-facilitated ‘Makamasang Tugon’ highlighting the Awarding of Notice to Proceed and the Commitment Signing Ceremony.
Pantinople said the ‘Awarding of Notice to Proceed’ urged the municipalities to begin implementing the KALAHI-CIDSS process as soon as members of their Municipal Coordinating Team completed the required technical training.
On the other hand, the ‘Commitment Signing Ceremony’ asked all provincial and municipal leaders to sign a commitment to fully support the program until its projected completion in June 2012.
The DSWD targets beneficiaries of the poorest municipalities with poverty incidence of at least 33 percent.
Bohol Gov. Edgardo Chatto and the municipal mayors, vice mayors, and municipal representatives in Bohol and Siquijor expressed their full support by participating in the project launching activity held separately at Talibon Cultural Center and at Capitol Square in Siquijor.