President Arroyo approved the expansion of a poverty alleviation program implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) that aims to extend the benefits of the program to more people in 8,000 barangays covering 334 municipalities nationwide.

The expansion of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) is already included in the list of projects in the pipeline by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).

KALAHI-CIDSS is the community- driven development project being implemented by the DSWD that aims to empower communities and enhance their participation in local governance and community projects.

The project will be extended until May 31, 2010 to provide sufficient time for proper completion of activities.

It is funded by the national government with a loan from the World Bank and counterpart funds from the local government units.

As of May 31, KALAHI-CIDSS has already funded 5,337 community projects that benefited 1,035,832 households in 5,556 barangays.

These projects include roads, water systems, schools, health stations, day-care centers, and post harvest facilities with approved cost of P5.706 billion.

The extension of the program was brought about by the “overall satisfactory rating” received by the government from the World Bank for benefitting 990,597 households or nearly six million individuals in 3,675 barangays nationwide.

The World Bank report said that “during 2008, the KALAHI-CIDSS project continues to make progress in achieving its overall development objectives as it enters the final stage of implementation in the remaining 83 municipalities.”

The report also emphasized the increasing role of local government units in the implementation of the project.

As of March 2009, KALAHI-CIDSS has supported 5,289 sub-projects that benefited 990,597 households with nearly six million individuals in 3,675 barangays.

The total cost of the sub-projects is P5.7 billion, of which P3.9 billion are in the form of community grants from the national government while P1.8 billion are counterpart funds of local government units and the communities.

The DSWD is now working to expand its KALAHI-CIDSS project to cover 8,000 barangays in 334 municipalities to extend the benefits of the program to more people.

The DSWD has proposed a loan of US$100 million with a government counterpart of US$30 million for a three-year period.

Of the projects being implemented, basic social service facilities such as water systems, school buildings, day care centers and health stations top the list with 2,251 projects.