DSWD, World Bank visit Iloilo towns for support mission

ILOILO. Department of Social Welfare and Development and World Bank delegates of the 9th Implementation Support Mission discussed the experiences and lessons in Kalahi-CIDSS implementation with Partner- local government unit of Bingawan, Iloilo, headed by Mayor Mark Palabrica (1st from right) and Vice Mayor Matt Palabrica (1st from left). (Contributed photo)
ILOILO. Department of Social Welfare and Development and World Bank delegates of the 9th Implementation Support Mission discussed the experiences and lessons in Kalahi-CIDSS implementation with Partner- local government unit of Bingawan, Iloilo, headed by Mayor Mark Palabrica (1st from right) and Vice Mayor Matt Palabrica (1st from left). (Contributed photo)

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and development partner World Bank held a three-day visit to Bingawan and Lambunao, Iloilo to check the progress of the Kalahi-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Cidss) implementation as part of the 9th Implementation Support Mission from February 4 to 6.

The World Bank delegates was comprised of Senior Social Development Specialist and co-Task Team Leader Maria Loreto Padua, Senior Procurement Specialist Rene Manuel, Financial Management Specialist Maria Liennefer Rey Penaroyo, Social Safeguards Specialist Marivi Amor Ladia, and Environment Specialist Maurice Rawlin.

“We call it the Implementation Support Mission because it is not an audit, though we want to take account on how the project is being implemented... and know whether some deviations or variations were made in which case we probably need to review. The important thing is to document these and that decisions are based on lessons learned,” Padua explained.

The three-day visit brought the group to Barangays Malitbog Ilaya and Ngingi-an in Bingawan, and Barangays Agsirab and San Gregorio in Lambunao, where the Kalahi-Cidss National Community-Driven Development Program funded roads and hanging bridges, respectively. The group also conducted separate focus group discussions with local government unit (LGU) officials and staff and community volunteers to validate if the policies and standards were observed during project implementation.

After the visit, Padua noted that in Bingawan and Lambunao, DSWD has successfully “planted principles of Community-Driven Development,” the approach championed by Kalahi-Cidss, noting that “the contribution of Kalahi is deepening the practice and mechanisms for participation.”

Since 2008, the people and LGU of Bingawan have completed 17 access roads, four school buildings, a mobile rice mill, a day care center, a health center, a footbridge, a water system, and a streetlight project under Kalahi-Cidss. These were completed with the help of 516 male and 818 female community volunteers, according to municipal data.

Meanwhile, Lambunao climbed from being a 4th class municipality with a poverty incidence of 40.7% percent in 2006 to a 1st class municipality with a 26.6% poverty incidence. It is the municipality with the largest land area in Iloilo, where 16,116 households have benefitted from Kalahi-Cidss. There are 43 completed community sub-projects worth P38.09 million in the municipality from 2014 to present.

Both municipalities passed an ordinance that institutionalized principles and practice of community-driven development.

“I think one of the valuable lessons in Iloilo is that there are existing mechanisms in the LGU that promote participation. One of the things that really struck us in the report is how it attempts to go beyond seeing Kalahi beyond the sub-projects. It tried to attempt to look and articulate the results of Kalahi in terms of quality of life,” Padua said.

When asked about the appreciation of the program, Lambunao Mayor Jason Gonzales said “This (Kalahi) is a program I believe in and something that I want to continue because I have seen the results on the ground and I have heard the stories.”

Bingawan Vice Mayor Matt Palabrica echoed Mayor Gonzales’ optimism. “As long as there are poor people, there will always be Kalahi,” he said.

The World Bank representatives were accompanied by the DSWD team headed by Assistant Secretary for Specialized Programs Rhea B. Peñaflor, National Program Manager Annie E. Mendoza, DSWD- Central Visayas Regional Director Ma. Evelyn Macapobre, and Assistant Regional Director for Operations Delia Bagolcol. (PR)

Trending

No stories found.

Just in

No stories found.

Branded Content

No stories found.
SunStar Publishing Inc.
www.sunstar.com.ph