The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Western Visayas has provided temporary jobs to 3,050 recipients from 10 municipalities and two cities in the region under its Kapitbisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) program this year.
“This cash-for work, first of all, aims to provide temporary jobs at this time of pandemic and of course to uplift the economic activities in the covered areas,” said DSWD Promotive Division Chief and Regional Project Coordinator Luna Moscoso in an interview.
The last to complete the implementation in the first week of August was this city, which benefited 370 workers.
The program implementation was also completed in June in the municipalities of Barotac Nuevo, Barotac Viejo, San Dionisio, San Rafael, Guimbal, and Santa Barbara in Iloilo province with a total of 1,374 workers; Pontevedra and Manapla in Negros Occidental with 844; 344 in Malay, Aklan; 50 in Hamtic, Antique; and 68 in Roxas City in Capiz after their funds were downloaded in May.
The recipient local government units (LGUs) were chosen based on their capacity to implement the project and those with a high incidence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
The total project, including the cash and in-kind counterpart of recipient local government units (LGUs), costs PHP13.35 million.
Implemented under the Kalahi-CIDSS Disaster Response Operations Modality (DROM), each worker was paid PHP395 per day for 10 days in exchange for community work.
Among their identified tasks were coastal cleanup; clearing and removal of vegetation along sidewalks, road, and cemetery areas; and re-shaping and de-clogging of earth canals, riverbanks, and swamps.
Moscoso said the DSWD made sure their projects benefit the community in terms of disaster mitigation and prevention and even formed part of their response, especially this rainy season. (PNA)
