PILAR, Abra – A farm to market road worth P1.5 M has been completed by the community volunteers of Brgy. Patad. This is through the Community-Driven Development (CDD) implemented under Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) Project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
From the proposed 563 linear meters length, the community volunteers were able to finish 604 meters length road situated along Brgys. Patad, Maliplipit, and Poblacion.
According to Pilar Area Coordinator Ludovico Ulatan, the completed sub-project benefits 525 households from five barangays of the municipality namely Brgys. Patad, Maliplipit, Poblacion, Tangbao, and San Isidro. The farm to market road also benefits one Brgy. in Ilocos Sur namely Brgy. Taleb in the municipality of Nagbukel.
Ilesio Tumbagan, the sub-project foreman and also a Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiary expressed his gratefulness to the Project saying that they have now a concrete road for their transportation. Tumbagan also said that they are now more peace of mind, especially for their children studying in Poblacion who experienced injuries in walking on the muddy and slippery road before. With this, he assured that the community is more than willing to participate in the 2nd cycle of implementation.
“Men and women volunteers in our barangay both contributed to the success of this sub-project through their participation on various committees from project identification, planning to implementation stage.” Brgy. Capt. Lauro Sabado said. Sabado added that aside from the hard work and active involvement of the community, the local government unit (LGU) was also supportive in the sub-project implementation.
Among the five prioritized barangays from the Municipal-Inter Barangay Forum – Participatory Resource Allocation (MIBF-PRA) assessment, Brgy. Patad is the first to finish its sub-project, with Kalahi-CIDSS fund amounting to Php 1,250,441.93 and a total Local Counterpart Contribution (LCC) of Php 325,197.52, in cash and in kind. The construction of day care center at Brgy. San Juan East with Php 576,015.32 Kalahi-CIDSS fund and a total of Php 157,013.00 LCC, cable footbridge at Brgy. Villavieja with Php 785,545.60 Kalahi-CIDSS fund and Php 183,414.52 LCC and electric pump driven water system at Brgy.Narnara with Php 44,493.27 Kalahi-CIDSS fund and Php 428,777.65 LCC. The downloading of the LCCs is set to be complete this August 2013. The LCC is one of the conditionalities which the LGUs have to comply with to be able to implement the Project.
Meanwhile, the road concreting at Brgy. Nagcanasan is on completion of additional requirements for the release of its eight million funds.
Area Coordinator Ulatan said that these barangays are on their 1st cycle of Project implementation with the Millennium Challenge Corporation grant. And with the expansion under the National Community-Driven Development Program (NCDDP), the community of Patad is optimistic on having another cycle of project implementation.# DSWD-CAR, SOCIAL MARKETING UNIT, MAYROSE F. URBANO
