BUTUAN CITY – Some 60,478 households have already benefited from the government’s R330.1-million anti-poverty alleviation project that was implemented in Northeastern Mindanao.

The Caraga Region office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said the government’s Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) project was implemented in the five provinces and three cities in the Caraga Region, particularly in the far-flung areas.

A report released by the DSWD stated that those who benefited from the KALAHI-CIDSS project came from the 272 villages of the 16 municipalities in the Caraga Region.

The KALAHI-CIDSS project in the Caraga region started in January 2003, the agency said.

For the Phase 1 area, which includes Jabonga town, was launched in Las Nieves, Carmen, both of Agusan del Norte, and La Paz in Agusan del Sur for the Phase 2, all started in 2003.

The Phase 3 areas started in September 2004 in the municipalities of Esperanza, San Luis, San Isidro and San Miguel, while Phase 3B followed in Loreto, Agusan del Sur during the same year.

The Phase 4 areas include the towns of Libjo, San Benito, Pilar, Socorro, all of Surigao del Norte and Bayabas, Marihatag and Tagbina, all of Surigao del Sur, are the last seven areas that implemented the project.

The DSWD report also stated that these 16 municipalities were identified for its poverty situation and social welfare indications based on a study conducted by Dr. Arsenio Balisacan of the University of the Philippines (UP).

In all its engagement with the local government unit (LGU) and community members, the Regional Project Management Office has always been firm in its pronouncement that the community or the general assembly has the deciding power on matters affecting the project – from what sub-project to build, to the selection of volunteers that will form part of the Barangay Sub-Project Management Committee (BSPMC) – the group that oversees the implementation of the project.

KALAHI-CIDSS followed the one-fund concept in which assistance from DSWD, municipal and village councils are directly deposited to community accounts.