Another milestone marks the Kalahi-CIDSS implementation in the region when the local chief executives of the Provincial Local Government Units (PLGUs) of Eastern and Northern Samar, together with selected Municipal Local Government Units (MLGUs) of said provinces, signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for implementation of the project.

Partnerships were formalized on May 8 for Eastern Samar and May 10 for Northern Samar provinces. The municipalities involved are Dolores, Llorente and Gen McArthur for Eastern Samar; and Bobon, Catarman, Lavezares and Lope de Vega for Northern Samar.

Northern Samar Governor Paul Daza declared full support for the project, saying the province has allocated ten percent of the 30 percent requirement for the Local Cash Counterpart or LCC.

“Kalahi-CIDSS is one of the most important programs of DSWD, and I am glad that these four municipalities of my province were selected for implementation this year,” Gov. Daza added.

Eastern Samar Governor Conrado Nicart, Jr. also pledged to support the implementation of the project in his province. He stated that he will discuss with the three Mayors of the concerned municipalities on how they could come up with an agreement on the provision of the LCC.

All of the Mayors from the selected municipalities expressed their gratitude for having been chosen as beneficiaries for the project.

Mayor Jaime Ty of General Mac Arthur, Eastern Samar revealed that he has long been praying for Kalahi-CIDSS to be implemented in his municipality.

“I have been praying for this opportunity, that we get help from a National Government Agency (NGA) like DSWD, in improving the lives of my constituents. I even committed to attend a mass in Sulangan, Guiuan once given a chance to be chosen. This is an answered prayer for me”, Mayor Ty said.

These new municipalities were randomly selected in August last year using a “tambiolo”.

DSWD Assistant Regional Director Nestor Ramos encouraged the LGUs to continue supporting the project. He emphasized that the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement is not the end of the activities that comes along with the partnership. “It is just the beginning”, he pointed out.

“We hope that this day will be remembered as something significant to all of us, so that we will not forget our commitments to help the poor and disadvantaged sectors in our communities. We would like to see more of your support in the actual implementation of the project, so that together we will be able to help alleviate poverty in our country,” Ramos surmised.

Kalahi-CIDSS is an anti-poverty project of the government spearheaded by the DSWD. It promotes and advocates the Community Driven Development (CDD) process through participatory, transparency and accountability. It aims to improve local governance, empower the community and reduce poverty.

CDD is a process wherein the community identifies, select, design, implement and maintain sub-projects according to their most pressing needs.