THE National Project Management Office (NPMO) of Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) is currently collecting the learning experiences of local government units as a basis for crafting policies and mechanisms as a benchmark for the success of the Program implementation.
KALAHI-CIDSS Visayas Cluster MATA Focal Jezon Romano said the success of the project will come from inputs of previous project implementation. “We are trying to capture the “best implementation practices” of the local government units in using the Community-Driven Development approach in implementing the Program.
Romano, along with Armila Petrache, Finance Officer IV, Engr. Vincent Magallanes; Project Development Officer IV (Engineering) and Engr. Joel Ibanez; Project Development Officer IV (Procurement) was in Iloilo last week for a monitoring and evaluation visit. The group visited the towns of Pavia and San Rafael, both in Iloilo province, and conducted consultation meetings with the local government officials as well as with the community volunteers and barangay officials.
One of the KALAHI-CIDSS-funded projects visited by the joint team of NMPO and the Regional Project Management Office was the isolation facility at Barangay Amparo. Romano, during the visit at Pavia, encouraged Vice Mayor Edsel Gerochi and the members of the Municipal Inter-Agency Committee to look into how they conscientiously implemented the Program since 2014.
The local government unit has provided staff counterparts and retained some of them after the KALAHI-CIDSS implementation commenced in the municipality. “We really appreciate the institutional support of the local government unit. We may share it with other local government units,” said Romano.
He hinted that not all the local government units have strong support for the Program and its development processes. The good practices of the local government units, specifically those which have already integrated and harmonized the Participatory Situation Analysis results in the preparation of their Barangay Development Plan must be shared, he said.
Earlier, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the department will conduct a program review on the implementation of KALAHI-CIDSS. The secretary wants to ensure that development is the cutting edge in the department, thus ensuring poverty alleviation programs such as KALAHI-CIDSS and Sustainable Livelihood Program will not go extinct.
As part of the Program’s mechanism and transparency measure, the joint team from the NPMO and Regional Project Management Office also conducted an onsite inspection of the PHP7.9 million road project in Barangay Poscolon, in San Rafael. Prior to the inspection, the group had a meeting with Vice Mayor Roel Belleza, members of the Municipal Inter-Agency Committee, and KALAHI-CIDSS staff assigned to the area.
At Barangay Poscolon, the national team asked the community volunteers and barangay officials about the process they instituted in the implementation of the 799 linear meters road project. They were requested to share their experiences about the social process, disbursement of funds, procurement activities, and engineering works.
