Typhoon Yolanda-affected municipalities in Quezon Province now have rehabilitated roads and other social infrastructure through the projects implemented by the community residents under the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS).
To date, there are 42 infrastructure constructed across the 17 Yolanda-affected municipalities in the province. Projects include farm-to-market roads, community centers, spillways, health stations, day care centers, and street lights among others.
The said municipalities include Agdangan, Alabat, Buenavista, Burdeos, Perez, Quezon, San Antonio, Tagkawayan, Unisan, Candelaria, Calauag, Guinayangan, Gumaca, Mauban, Plaridel and San Francisco.
Aside from the said number of completed infrastructure, there are 582 sub-projects still undergoing construction in these municipalities. The sub-projects are allocated with a total grant of PhP365.83 Million and are all expected to be completed by September this year.
The Kalahi-CIDSS is a poverty reduction program of the DSWD that aims to improve the delivery of social services in poor communities by empowering the people to engage in the local development process. It follows the community-driven development strategy in implementing community projects which engages local residents in the planning, decision-making, and implementation process. The local residents themselves identify the sub-projects that would best address their needs and are trained on proposal development, construction estimates, and community finance and procurement to help them manage the sub-project implementation.
After the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, the DSWD has expanded the Kalahi-CIDSS implementation to help in the rehabilitation of affected communities.
“Masaya kami na mas madali na ang transportasyon dito sa aming barangay dahil naayos na ang kalsada na dati ay maputik at mahirap daanan tuwing tag-ulan,” said 40-year old Reynaldo Enaje Jr., one of the Kalahi-CIDSS volunteers in the rehabilitation of their barangay road in Brgy. Laurel, Tagkawayan, Quezon Province.#