274, 829 households in Northern Mindanao are now benefitting from the community subprojects they completed through the help of the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office X. Subprojects included roads, electrification projects, health stations, among others.

The Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services National Community-Driven Development Program Additional Financing (KALAHI-CIDSS NCDDP AF) of the DSWD delivered 628 subprojects covering 42 municipalities in Northern Mindanao.

DSWD reveals that improving road conditions are the top priority of communities, with 269 roads built out of 649 subprojects. Since the onset of the Program in 2021, approximately 34 kilometers of road concreting projects were delivered. Rural electrification is the second most pressing need, installing 3, 919 solar streetlights in various communities in Region X.

Roads, electrification projects, and isolation facilities are the top 3 sub-projects identified by KALAHI-CIDSS NCDDP AF areas in Region X. Source: FO X KALAHI-CIDSS Monitoring Dashboard.

For 2021-2022, the program allocated more than PHP649 million worth of infrastructure investments in Region X. Funded through government financing and loan proceeds, the DSWD determines areas with high poverty incidence for program implementation.

2023 targets include 731 sub-projects expected to be delivered by the end of the semester. PHP322 million worth of community grants is set to be implemented this year with six additional municipalities. The province of Bukidnon tops with the highest number of subprojects currently being implemented.

The program partners with municipal and barangay local government units in facilitating the community-driven development (CDD) approach to deliver the most-needed basic services. In the second year of NCDDP AF, the program logged more than PHP101 million cash counterparts from participating LGUs and is expected to increase under Phase 2. This time, municipal grants are scaled down to 50% while the LGUs cover the remaining funding requirement.

Barangay officials and community volunteers of Barangay Barra, Tudela, Misamis Occidental celebrate the turnover of their community sub-project: 0.160 KM barangay access road funded by KALAHI-CIDSS NCDDP AF and supported by the LGU. Local officials have undergone CDD for the first time and attest to its effectiveness in basic service delivery and community empowerment.
(Photo: ACT Tudela/Marilyn Bongcawil)

KALAHI-CIDSS NCDDP AF closes in December 2023 targeting the institutionalization of CDD in Barangay Development Planning in partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). LGUs who have undergone KALAHI-CIDSS NCDDP and NCDDP AF will be oriented with DILG’s enhanced Local Governance Module that harmonizes CDD and DILG processes. The roll-out training will run from May to October.

DSWD also pushes the institutionalization of CDD by law through the CDD Bill. It seeks that all National Government Agencies and Local Government Units shall use the CDD approach in their community-based programs, projects, and activities. The CDD Bill is one of the priority bills of DSWD in its legislative agenda to promote social protection by sustaining the gains of CDD.

Further, the Department aims to influence LGUs with CDD principles and elements in every KALAHI-CIDSS implementation. Mistaken as an infrastructure program, KALAHI-CIDSS’ development objective is to promote community empowerment where citizens work hand-in-hand with their local government to deliver basic services. It is achieved through meaningful participation in inclusive local planning, budgeting, and implementation.

Executive Order No. 443, Series of 1997 issued by former President Fidel V. Ramos prompted the DSWD to implement CDD through the Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (CIDSS) program. Since then, different funding institutions have supported various CDD implementations through the different modalities of KALAHI-CIDSS.

The DSWD, through the implementation of KALAHI-CIDSS NCDDP AF continues to fulfill development needs in Region X through small-scale, but essential infrastructures in the community improving the people’s quality of life and accelerating economic growth in their localities.