Residents of Pitogo town in Quezon Province are set to implement seven community development projects amounting to PhP8.5 million under the Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

More than 150 residents from the 39 barangays of
the said town prioritized these among 39 proposed community projects through the Municipal Inter-Barangay Forum-Participatory Resource Allocation (MIBF-PRA) held last April 6-7, 2016.

The MIBF-PRA is one of the community empowerment activities of the Kalahi-CIDSS where representatives from each barangay convene to present, prioritize and vote for the projects to be funded with the Kalahi-CIDSS grant based. This aims to promote inclusive decision-making among local residents towards the development of their communities.

The selection of prioritized projects was based on the criteria the residents formulated prior to the activity. Criteria include the number of direct project beneficiaries, environmental safeguards on the project site, sustainability project plan and the participation rate of the residents in all Kalahi-CIDSS activities.

Based on the priority ranking during the MIBF-PRA, seven projects were selected including two farm-to-market roads in Brgy. Soliyao Ibaba and Brgy. San Roque worth PhP1.39 million and PhP1.69 million respectively.

Other projects include the PhP1.93 million water system with sanitary toilet in Brgy. Saguinsinan, PhP1.76 million evacuation center in Brgy. Osmeña, PhP500,730 seawall in Brgy. Mayubok and two pathway concreting projects in Brgy. Burgos Ilaya and Brgy. Cometa worth PhP727,500 and PhP497,000 respectively.

“Ngayon na maaayos na ang kalsada sa amin, makakatulong ito para lumakas pa ang turismo sa amin at matulungan ang kabuhayan ng mga residente,” said Reycee Elchico, a community volunteer working for the farm-to-market road project in Brgy. Soliyao Ibaba.

Meanwhile, Luzviminda Dela Cruz, Kalahi-CIDSS Sub-Regional Program Coordinator in the CALABARZON Region, encouraged the volunteers who worked for the project proposals that were not prioritized for funding under Kalahi-CIDSS to submit their proposals to other programs such as the Barangay Bottom-Up Budgeting (BUB) for possible funding.

The municipality of Pitogo implements the Kalahi-CIDSS program for the first time. This year, there are 14 other towns in Quezon Province implementing Kalahi-CIDSS and are allocated with a total of PhP138 million grant for the implementation of their need-responsive projects.

The Kalahi-CIDSS aims to empower ordinary citizens to engage in the local development process through implementing need-responsive projects in their communities. The residents or community volunteers are trained on proposal development, construction estimates, and community finance and procurement to equip them with skills in implementing their identified projects.#