A total of 102 Disaster Risk Reduction Management projects in Eastern Visayas are currently being funded by the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s anti-poverty progam, the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS).
Part of Kalahi-CIDSS’ expansion through the National Community-Driven Development Program or NCDDP is the innovation to respond to the ‘New Normal’. This was achieved through the inclusion of Evacuation Centers and Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction Management Centers in the program’s project menu.
Through the Kalahi-CIDSS process, which uses the Community-Driven Development (CDD) approach, community members are given the opportunity to achieve improved access to services and to participate in a more inclusive local planning, budgeting, construction, and implementation of their identified project which can resolve their most pressing issue or problem in the community.
Out of 102 DRRM projects, 50 of these are evacuation buildings. Some 52 are Barangay DRRM Centers across the region are undergoing construction. In Northern Samar, 24 projects are for implementation, 11 in Southern Leyte, 4 in Biliran province while 63 are within the Yolanda-hit municipalities in Leyte, Samar and Eastern Samar.
“Kailangan talaga namin ng evacuation center dito dahil mas malakas na ang mga bagyo ngayon” [We really need an evacuation center here because typhoons are getting stronger these days]. Ana Mejos, a resident and Kalahi-CIDSS volunteer of Brgy. Bantayan , San Roque in Northern Samar province revealed.
Bantayan, which was badly hit by Typhoon Nona on December 2015, is the biggest village in the said municipality. It also received the biggest Kalahi-CIDSS NCDDP fund in San Roque town worth 2.72 million pesos for the construction of their two-storey evacuation center and 50-linear meter drainage canal.
Aside from Bantayan, five more barangays in San Roque received funding from Kalahi-CIDSS for the construction of their Barangay Evacuation Center which sums up to 9.59 million pesos.
“Minsan may nagagalit na sa akin kasi istrikta daw ako bilang isang Procurement Team member ng Kalahi-CIDSS implementation namin. Pero dapat naman talaga may disiplina sa trabaho. Dapat sakto ang materyales at sakto din ang oras ng nagtatrabaho. Ngayon may evacuation center na kami. Gawa namin ito. [They say I’m a strict Procurement Team member during the implementation of our Kalahi-CIDSS project. If the quality and quantity of building materials should be checked, paid laborer’s timeliness and discipline should also be observed. Now we already have our own evacuation center which we contsructed]”, Ana Mejos, explained.
“Part of the agency’s mandate is to tailor our programs and services, including Kalahi-CIDSS, to become more responsive to DRRM and even environmental protection and conservation. DRRM and environmental safeguards are also part of Kalahi-CIDSS capablity-building trainings for its volunteers, civil society organizations, and barangay and municpal LGU partners”, Regional Director Resty Macuto emphasized.