![DSWD @66. Members of Management Committee of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region XI led by Director Mercedita P. Jabagat [second from right] cut the ceremonial ribbon on Monday to mark the opening of the week-long celebration of the DSWD 66th Founding Anniversary. Theme for the observance is Sama-samang Paglilingkod ng may Malasakit. Other ManCom members are [from left] ARD for Administration Ma. Vilia L. Vigil, Chief Admin. Officer Teresita V. Mercado, Institutional Development Chief Ma. Elena S. Labrador, Policy and Plans Chief Estrella D. Brigole and ARD for Operations Rebecca A. Santamaria. (DSWD Photo)](https://edgedavao.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/DSWD-photo.jpg "DSWD @66. Members of Management Committee of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region XI led by Director Mercedita P. Jabagat [second from right] cut the ceremonial ribbon on Monday to mark the opening of the week-long celebration of the DSWD 66th Founding Anniversary. Theme for the observance is Sama-samang Paglilingkod ng may Malasakit. Other ManCom members are [from left] ARD for Administration Ma. Vilia L. Vigil, Chief Admin. Officer Teresita V. Mercado, Institutional Development Chief Ma. Elena S. Labrador, Policy and Plans Chief Estrella D. Brigole and ARD for Operations Rebecca A. Santamaria. (DSWD Photo)")
CLOSE to 300 community volunteers of Kalahi CIDSS and parent leaders of the Regular Conditional Cash Transfer in the town of Montevista, Compostela Valley Province held their first fun day last February 15 at the Freedom Stage of the local government unit.
Kalahi-CIDSS means Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive Delivery of Social Services started by the government about a decade ago.
The key features of KALAHI CIDSS are social inclusion, open menu system so communities can identify and implement projects they need, community-driven so citizens can handle all levels of project management.
As a community-driven development program it seeks to help alleviate poverty, improve local governance and empower citizens.
The volunteers and parent leaders enjoyed the whole-day fun day activities which included parlor games, yells and cheers competition and entertainment numbers, according to Sonny Legario Jr. , area coordinator of Kalahi-CIDSS in the municipality.
Most of all, the participants learned a lot from the sharing of experiences of the volunteers who related the challenges and milestones that they encountered in implementing the program under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Region 11, Legario said.
The volunteers were joined by Montevista Mayor Eutropion S. Jayectin, some municipal councilors and barangay captains of Montevista’s 20 barangays, including municipal planning and development officer Emilio Corias.
The event started at 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. non-stop despite the continuous rains.
In his speech, Mayor Topoy Jayectin congratulated the volunteers for their determination in taking part on all the process needed to complete the first Community Empowerment Activity Cycle or (CEAC) of the program.
He said that during the initial cycle, only 10 out of the 20 barangays were able to implement their proposed projects, but he asked the leaders of the remaining 10 barangays not to be discouraged as the implementation of the second cycle is well underway and has recently conducted the Criteria Setting workshop and Project development workshop and maybe their barangays will be prioritized this cycle.
He said that all barangays gained in the first cycle in terms of empowerment and valuable lessons learned in the procurement process.
Legario said that the upcoming Municipal inter-barangay forum for participatory resource allocation, composed of officials of the 20 barangays, Barangay Representation team(BRT), Project preparation team(PPT) and members of the Municipal Inter Agency Committee (MIAC), will pass upon the proposed projects based on the criteria that they themselves have set will determine the recipient barangays for this cycles implementation in the municipality.
KALAHI CIDSS NCDDP is jointly funded by the World Bank, the Philippine government and the municipal LGU.
