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Ipadayon ang KALAHI-CIDSS!

This was the cry of the community volunteers in the Municipality of Asturias in northern Cebu during the recent municipal-wide turnover of 33 community sub-projects in the town.

Community Development Officer III for the North and South Cebu Clusters, Joelito Yana, leads the ceremonial ribbon cutting of an access road sub-project in Barangay Poblacion, Asturias, before the program proper of the municipal-wide turnover.

Ipadayon is a Visayan word that means ‘continue’ what it has started or is currently doing.

During the sharing of experiences, Clarita Hetosis, the chairperson of the Monitoring       and Inspection Team (MIT) in Barangay Baye, urged the government to continue implementing the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan—Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) program, as she had seen the impacts it had to the communities.

“Ako lang pong gihangyo ang atong gobyerno nga ipadayon ang KALAHI-CIDSS aron padayon ta nga magpuyo nga duna gyud kaayohan sa komunidad matag-tuig. Mabuhay ang KALAHI! (I humbly ask our government to continue the implementation of KALAHI-CIDSS so that we continue to live with better opportunities in the community every year. Long live KALAHI!),” Hetosis said.

Meanwhile, Maria Racyl Perales, the chairperson of the Procurement Team (PT) in Barangay Santa Lucia, acknowledged the significant impacts of the program on their community amidst the difficulties they encountered as volunteers.

“Dako gyud kaayo og nahatag nga kaayohan ang KALAHI-CIDSS sa among barangay. Manghinaot kami nga  magpadayon unta ang KALAHI hangtod sa hangtod kay aron adunay laing proyekto nga moabot nga maghatag namo’g kaayohan nga magamit sa tanang katawhan nga nagkinahanglan (KALAHI-CIDSS has really done a lot of good in our barangay. We hope that KALAHI will continue forever for us to be given another sub-project that can be used by everyone who needs it),” said Perales.

Hetosis and Perales are just two of the many dedicated community volunteers in Asturias, Cebu, who asked the government to continue the program.

They made the request or shared their sentiments after knowing that KALAHI-CIDSS is about to end this year and that they are uncertain if the local government unit (LGU) would take part in the Phase III implementation, and be included in the successor program called Pagkilos, the successor program expected to be launched next year.

Experience

As she shared her experience as a community volunteer, Hetosis had nothing but gratitude towards the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the LGU, and above all, God, for the latest sub-project they received in the barangay, which is the improvement of a dirty kitchen of a daycare center under the Philippine Multi-sectoral Nutrition Project (PMNP) modality.

Hetosis recalled some factors that greatly affected the implementation of their sub-project: delayed delivery of supplies or materials and changing weather conditions, among others. However, such challenges did not stop them from volunteering or participating in the development of their community, even if her residence is far from the sub-project.

As an MIT chairperson, Hetosis said she made sure that the materials used for their sub-project were of the best quality, as she monitored, checked, and validated the overall progress following the program of works.

Perales said she and her fellow community volunteers in Barangay Santa Lucia were united to help the completion of their latest sub-project in the barangay, which is to repair the daycare center.

“Dako kaayo namong pasalamat ug kalipay sa pagdawat sa among proyekto taliwala sa kalisdanan. Kay among gipaningkamotan nga makab-ot ang proyekto nga makahatag og kaayohan sa among barangay, labi na ang daycare center, kay para man to sa amoang mga bata (We are very grateful and happy to accept our projects despite the difficulties. Because as volunteers, we really helped to achieve the projects that can bring benefits to our barangay, especially the daycare center because it is for our little children,” Perales stressed.

The community volunteers sign on the pledge of commitment board to show their commitment to sustain the gains of KALAHI-CIDSS sub-projects in their municipality and uphold the Community-Driven Development initiatives they learned from the program to ensure broader participation, greater transparency, and social accountability.

With this, the volunteers urged the local and national government officials to institutionalize the Community-Driven Development (CDD), an approach used by KALAHI-CIDSS, as the country’s national strategy for poverty alleviation by mandating the whole of government to adopt the principles of CDD in all government projects, programs, and activities; and promote community participation and empower the poor, vulnerable, disadvantaged, and marginalized sectors of the country.

In his message, Community Development Officer III Joelito Yana said that those experiences will help realize the dream to make the local planning process activities more participatory, transparent, and accountable.

Yana emphasized to the community volunteers and other stakeholders to take good care of the completed sub-projects.

He stressed that the sub-project turnover and inauguration are the concrete manifestations of community empowerment.

Some 30 sub-projects turned over to the communities have a total project cost of PHP 12,062,515.01 funded under PMNP, the three others, with a PHP 7,512,639.54 total cost, by the Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay (KKB). The KALAHI-CIDSS grant for the PMNP sub-projects amounted to PHP 10,966,015.01, while PHP 7,442,639.54 for the KKB. ###

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