The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 1 (DSWD FO 1) Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) Regional Program Management Office is now in the process of providing technical assistance to the rise of seven new Child Development Centers (CDCs) in the town of Luna, La Union.
According to KALAHI-CIDSS Luna Area Coordinator Marlon Kristopher Garcia, “The CDCs were identified by the barangay local government units or BLGUs as a community grant sub-project to be funded and implemented under the Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay – Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program (KKB- BP2P) modality.”
Garcia added that in December 2021, the local government unit of Luna through the leadership of Mayor Rachel Pinzon signified their interest to support the DSWD program by endorsing 20 BP2P eligible families who went back to the town from Metro Manila or other regions in the country.
As a prerequisite, the municipality was offered a Php 7.5 million community grant which will be used to construct the CDCs in the identified barangays namely Alcala, Cantoria 3, Oaqui 4, Rimos 3, Tallaoen, Salcedo, and Rissing.
Each BLGU shall be in-charge of the planning and management of the finance and operations following the guidelines set under the KALAHI-CIDSS Community-Driven Development or CDD approach.
The CDD approach is a globally recognized strategy for achieving service delivery, poverty reduction, and good governance outcomes as it revolves around the elements of participatory, inclusive, transparent, accountable, and sustainable development.
At present, these BLGUs with their community volunteers undergo a series of consultation meetings, training, workshops, and focused group discussions, and have established different committees being guided by the Area Coordinating Team assigned in the area.
“Our LGU is very grateful to DSWD FO 1 for providing us with the opportunity to help and support our constituents through this community grant. The KALAHI-CIDSS’ way of implementing projects is very distinct from other national government projects that we handled,” said Luna Municipal Social Welfare Officer Jeanette T. Padilla, RSW.
Padilla said that the CDD approach has paved the way to encourage the barangay folks to continuously be involved in the planning and management of other projects being done by the LGU.
The said CDC sub-projects will be turned over to the BLGUs once the functionality of the infrastructure is certified and approved, and financial reportorial requirements are cleared. The sub-projects will benefit a total of 1,499 households.
Luna is a 3rd class municipality located in the western part of La Union and home to 37,318 people. (By: Anne Hazel Fajardo-Flores, Social Marketing Officer III, KALAHI-CIDSS RPMO/ Social Marketing Unit)
