The municipality of Catarman, Northern Samar, through Mayor Rolando Carpio, Jr., appropriated a budget of P35M for the Kapit-Bisisg Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) implementation in 2012.

Mayor Carpio stated in an interview that they have included the said amount in their Annual Investment Plan for the coming year. He further added that after their municipality was selected as beneficiary of the project early this year, he directed the Barangay Development Committee to identify priority projects in their respective barangays in preparation for the KALAHI-CIDSS implementation. He added that their municipality has planned a line-up of activities, like meeting the barangay officials to discuss with them their most felt need in the barangay.

“As I see it, KALAHI-CIDSS is a cash-for-work project. It is empowering the community. It is the people in the community who decides according to their needs; and identify problems and issues that need to be addressed”, Mayor Carpio said.

KALAHI-CIDSS Deputy Regional Project Manager (DRPM) Eubolo Co affirmed that they have targeted March 2012 as the date to formally launch the project in the municipality, through the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Local Government Unit of Catarman.

“After the MOA-signing, the project will take off and start the whole process – the Community Empowerment Activity Cycle or the CEAC. It involves the social preparation stage, wherein we conduct municipal and barangay orientations, participatory situation analysis and community consultation. After that is the project identification stage; then the project preparation, selection and approval stage. Every stage involves certain processes and procedures that ought to be strictly followed. So the whole process takes six months before the physical implementation”, DRPM Co explained.

Asked on what the municipality expects from the project, Mayor Carpio said, “KALAHI-CIDSS will be of big help to us, especially in the barangays and communities. With KALAHI-CIDSS, the LGU can concentrate more on projects that generate more return of investments (ROI), like the farm-to-market roads. This is important because if we have good farm-to-market roads, the quality of farm products is preserved while it is transported to the market”, he added.

KALAHI-CIDSS is a government project that aims to improve local governance, empower the community through the Community Driven Development process, and reduce poverty. It is being spearheaded by the Department of Social Welfare Development (DSWD).