Using the community-driven development (CDD) strategy, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) continues to carry out programs that strengthen the resilience of poor communities and help mitigate the impact of disasters and calamities.
From 2023 to 2025, a total of 2,032 KALAHI-CIDSS subprojects related to disaster resilience and mitigation were completed with 621,675 household-beneficiaries across all the regions in the country, except the National Capital Region (NCR).
DSWD spokesperson Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao said on Friday (July 25) the implementation of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) has made significant strides that encourage disaster preparedness and mitigation among vulnerable communities.
“The CDD approach encourages communities in geographically-isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) and hard-to-reach barangays to actively participate in solving the main concerns of their communities. By allowing them to design, implement, and manage solutions to their priority problems, we are empowering communities to accept ownership of their own development,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao said amid the ongoing multiple weather systems that hit most parts of the country where KALAHI-CIDSS’ subprojects are existing.
The completed CDD subprojects include 131 evacuation centers; 1,595 flood control/river control/drainage; and 306 riprap wall/slope protection/erosion control.
In Barangay. Cambas-ac, Dapa, Surigao del Norte, one of the finished KALAHI-CIDSS subprojects identified by their community members was the repair of the sea wall, which was damaged at the height of Typhoon Odette in 2021.
The restoration of the sea wall with a budgetary requirement of Php3,067,250 was completed in the 1st half of September 2024 benefitting 272 families in 195 households.
The newly-repaired sea wall serves as a protective barrier against coastal hazards, offering enhanced safety and a greater sense of security by shielding the area from storm surges and powerful waves.
In MIMAROPA, community members from Aborlan and Narra in Palawan province were able to seek refuge during the effects of a shearline last February, thanks to the evacuation centers that were built under the KALAHI-CIDSS program.
A similar evacuation center project in Lubuagan, a 4th class municipality in Kalinga province, has also helped the townsfolk from nine barangays to have a safe haven during heavy downpour and landslides.
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau’s (MGB) has a list of identified areas susceptible to landslides released in 2021. Among the 32 barangays listed in Kalinga were in the municipalities of Balbalan, Pasil, Rizal, Pinukpuk, Tinglayan, and Lubuagan. Specifically, Barangay Upper Uma in Lubuagan is deemed as vulnerable to high landslide incident.
Thus, the community lost no time in proposing for the construction of a safe and adequate evacuation center when personnel of the KALAHI-CIDSS came into their municipality.
Through the bayanihan of more than 200 volunteers, the construction of the evacuation center began in January 2024 and was completed in July of the same year and is now the villagers’ safe haven during calamities.
Next year, the KALAHI-CIDSS will pave the way for a new community resiliency development project dubbed ‘Panahon ng Pagkilos: Philippine Community Resilience Project (PCRP)’, according to Asst. Secretary Dumlao.
“The PCRP will prioritize municipalities with the highest poverty incidence, targeting economic vulnerabilities and environmental threats such as drought, extreme heat, flooding, and landslides. It will also address child health, nutrition, and inclusive support for Indigenous Peoples,” the DSWD spokesperson said. (AKDL).