The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) thanked the Provincial Government of Iloilo for supporting the institutionalization of the Community-Driven Development (CDD) Day through a provincial ordinance.
Director Bernadette Mapue-Joaquin, the National Program Manager (NPM) of the agency’s Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS), said the Iloilo provincial government issued Provincial Ordinance No. 2025-336 or “An Ordinance Observing the Community-Driven Development (CDD) Day Every Year in the Province of Iloilo,” also known as “CDD Day” as part of its advocacy on the principles of CDD.
“We thank Provincial Governor Arthur R. Defensor Jr. and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Iloilo for their continued commitment to institutionalizing and promoting the core principles of CDD,” Director Mapue-Joaquin said on Wednesday (May 4).
CDD Day will be commemorated annually in the province every third Wednesday of September, starting this year. It will serve as a platform to celebrate the province’s dedication to empowering communities, promoting participatory governance, and driving inclusive development.
“The annual observance of the CDD Day acknowledges the transformative impact of local empowerment, as championed by the KALAHI-CIDSS program which has long been promoted and cultivated in the municipalities of Iloilo,” the KALAHI-CIDSS NPM pointed out.
Director Mapue-Joaquin said the celebration is a significant way to honor the contributions of community volunteers and to showcase local development initiatives that exemplify participatory governance and effective community leadership.
To date, KALAHI-CIDSS has successfully completed 91,625 sub-projects across the country, of which 4,405 sub-projects are located in the Province of Iloilo.
Among the finished sub-projects were roads, school buildings, health centers, water systems, flood controls, electrifications, and multipurpose buildings, which were constructed under the different modalities of the program.
The KALAHI-CIDSS is a program that uses the CDD strategy which allows communities to gain control over decisions and resources.
The same strategy will be utilized in the newly-approved Panahon ng Pagkilos: Philippine Community Resilience Project (PCRP), the successor program of KALAHI-CIDSS, which will help empower target communities to choose appropriate projects that will strengthen community-based mechanisms to address emerging risks, such as environmental hazards, economic shocks, and other vulnerabilities. (AKDL)