$100-M project for poorest provinces up

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will be launching nationwide their $100-million World Bank (WB) loan-funded Kapitbisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) middle of this month.

It was learned that fifth and sixth class municipalities in the 11 poorest provinces of the country, (Quezon, Zamboanga del Norte, Lanao del Norte, Davao del Norte, Saranggani, Agusan del Norte, Iloilo, Ifugao, Masbate, Siquijor, and Eastern Samar) will be the initial beneficiaries of the program.

Under the program, barangays of the fifth and sixth class municipalities will be given P3 million each for three years to spend on critical projects aimed to stimulate economic activity and uplift living conditions in their respective areas.

The critical projects may be farm-to-market roads, irrigation ditches, establishment of farm or fishery cooperatives or others.

The decision on which projects that will be funded should be made collectively by the people of barangay. Since they will be given the stewardship of the project and its funds, the barangay people are expected to be the ones to monitor its development and guard it from graft.

DSWD Secretary Corazon "Dinky" Juliano-Soliman underscored the importance of the project’s success as she pointed out that the country was borrowing a large amount that they will have to pay back after some eight years. She stressed that beneficiary barangays should make the most of the KALAHI-CIDSS funds and put it to good use so that they can maximize the benefits to their people. — Rainier Allan Ronda