BY JHUN CARLO LUCERO, JEOREYLENE ROJO & KRISTINA CRUJIDO/DNSC INTERNS
THE DEPARTMENT of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will pilot-test the Philippine Community Resilience Project (PCRP) in eight municipalities in Davao Region
PCRP is a program under DSWD that promotes resiliency among the poor and vulnerable communities in the face of calamities, climate change, and economic shocks, ensuring no one is left behind.
It builds on the foundation of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan- Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS), a 23-year poverty reduction program using a community participatory approach.
Harold Balandra, DSWD community development officer, said the first batch to benefit from the program includes the municipalities of Sarangani and Don Marcelino in Davao Occidental, Governor Generoso, Taragona, Baganga, Cateel, and Manay in Davao Oriental, and Caraga.
The PCRP is expected to benefit around 4.13 million households, including nearly 33% of the country’s Indigenous Peoples (IPs).
Meanwhile, Balandra said they will train community volunteers and local government officials on hands-on capacity-building training to support local implementation.
“We hope to give capability-building training to almost 116,000 community volunteers,” he said.
The selection process for municipalities is based on four key criteria: poverty incidence, Indigenous Peoples (IP) population, stunting rate, and vulnerability of the area, and also has 18.1% and above poverty reduction.
Meanwhile, Giovani Yogu, DSWD XI deputy regional program manager, said they are currently working on creating a safety net to ensure the budget allocation will not be used as political leverage during the election season.
“Implemented from the previous experience, they (politicians) adhered to the monitoring advocacy promoting participation, transparency, and accountability,” he said.
