ILOILO CITY, June 30 (PNA) — The Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) will be expanding more projects to 117 municipalities in Western Visayas in response to the devastation caused by last year’s Typhoon Frank.

Kalahi-CIDSS deputy regional project manager Leo Quintilla said they already received so many letters of intent and proposals from the different interested Local Government Units (LGUs) in the region especially the typhoon-hit areas.

“The chosen LGU will be the one to choose what projects they need most,” he said during the press conference at the Iloilo Grand Hotel here on Monday.

Quintilla said most of the proposed projects were based on the primary need of the areas such as day care centers, health sanitation, road improvements, water systems, solar dryers, school buildings and barangay halls, among others.

“But this time, the program will not focus only on the community-based infrastructures but we also included some programs that will reduce the vulnerability of the areas,” he said.

In fact, the pioneer urban project in the region was granted last year to LGUs of Kabankalan City particularly in two villages of Hilamonan and Binicuil, all of Negros Occidental.

Quintilla said their basis why Kabankalan City was chosen as a pioneer urban area of the project is its higher poverty incidence with almost 33 percent in national poverty rate, and magnitude of poor (highest number of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries), and characterized just like rural area because of issues on land tenure, disasters and inaccessibility to basic services.

The project manager added that they have already finished assessing the areas as their start-up action and are just waiting for the order from the DSWD Central office to proceed with the project.

Quintilla added since they have chosen two villages where to place the program, they are leaving them all the decisions on the projects based on the needs of the community, required involvement and participation of the community. (PNA)
LAP/AJP/MGCAOYONAN/VLO