Unlike other community volunteers who were accompanied by their colleagues during their presentation of ideal barangay, Renato Carolino from Barangay Villa Boado, Talugtug, Nueva Ecija went on stage with his son Piolo. At a tender age of 14, Piolo innocently held his father’s manila paper as his father started his speech.

Listeners can surely feel the conviction in every word of Renato’s speech. It was scorching 2 o’clock in the afternoon at Umali Gym and one would expect the audience to be heavy-eyed or distracted. However, this was not the case when Renato took over the stage. With his public-speaking skills, some may even think of him as an experienced politician, but he is not. He is a community volunteer of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) who is willingly giving his time and effort for a sole purpose – to give his child, Piolo, a better future.
“Para saan ba ang lahat ng ginagawa nating ito? Simple lang naman—para sa ating mga anak at sa susunod na henerasyon. Para hindi nila maranasan ang paghihirap na dinadanas natin (What is the reason of all these? It’s simple—for our children and the next generation. These are to prevent them from going through all the hardships that we have experienced),” Renato, 48, said in his speech.
In an interview, Renato said that being a community volunteer of the KALAHI-CIDSS is no joke. “Noong una, ayaw ng asawa ko. Wala rin akong oras kaya kung minsan, tumatakas lang ako sa trabaho (At first, my wife does not approve of this. I also don’t have a lot time that’s why sometimes; I have to escape from work).”
Renato has been an active community volunteer since 2014. Despite some of his fellow volunteers leaving when their sub-project was not prioritized in the first cycle, Renato still held his unwavering perseverance and continued his quest to give his child the comfort he never had.
Piolo, along with all the students from their barangay, walks for an hour to get to school every day. This is why his father proposed an access road as their sub-project. Sadly, their sub-project was not prioritized in the first cycle of project selection.
However, with a kind heart, Renato understood why their sub-project wasn’t chosen. “Alam naman naming na mas kailangan ng ibang barangay yung proposed [project] nila (We understand that some barangays have a more urgent need to accomplish their proposed sub-projects),” Renato said.

“Ipagpapatuloy ko pa rin ang suporta ko sa adbokasiya ng KALAHI-CIDSS. Para naman maipakita ko sa susunod na henerasyon na kaya nating magsama-sama para sa kinabukasan nila. (I’ll just continue to support the advocacy of the KALAHI-CIDSS to show the next generation that we can be united to give them a bright future).” ### (MA. DENNIELLE M. LOMBOY)

“Isang pamayanang malusog, maunlad, [mayroong] nagkakaisang barangay at munisipyo, mataas na kalidad na edukasyon, malinis na kapaligiran, respeto sa isa’t isa, katahimikan, mabilis na pag-abot ng mga serbisyo na ibinibigay ng barangay, munisipyo, at karatig-bayan, [at] mataas na antas ng pagsasaka.”

(A community that is healthy, progressive, has a unity between the barangay and municipality, quality education, clean environment,citizens that respect one another, peace, access on services from barangay, municipality, and neighboring municipalties, and quality farming.)

After hours of intense and participative discussion, the community volunteers in Talugtug, Nueva Ecija came up with this vision of their dream community during the Criteria Setting Workshop (CSW) last July 19 and 20. Lengthy as it may seem, this vision encompasses the solution of all the problems that these citizens have been facing. With the help of the KALAHI-CIDSS, a community-empowerment program of the DSWD, the volunteers hope to achieve this vision.

“Kailangan, kapag nag-iisip tayo ng vision, hindi lang ang sariling barangay natin ang iniisip natin. Dapat iniisip natin ang kabuuang ikabubuti ng munisipyo (When formulating a vision, we should not solely think about the benefit of our own barangay. Instead, we should consider the welfare of our municipality as a whole),” said the community volunteer from Barangay Mayamot II.

After agreeing on a vision, the community volunteers created their own list of criteria for the selection of sub-projects to be prioritized by the KALAHI-CIDSS. In setting criteria, the community volunteers considered various aspects in the community, such as security, health, education, environment, and livelihood.

The participants also came up with a creative method on the presentation oftheir barangay’s sub-project proposal. As agreed, the Municipal Inter-Barangay Forum – Participatory Resource Allocation (MIBF-PRA) will be held on October 14 at Umali Gym, Talugtug.

Before the CSW ends, some of the volunteers gave their own reflection on the event. According to a community volunteer from Barangay Saguing, “Karamihan sa mga tao sa barangay namin, ayaw maniwala sa ganitong programa. Kaya ako nagtitiyang lumahok sa ganitong workshop para maipakita sa kanila na may kabuluhan ang lahat ng ito (Most of the people in our barangay don’t believe in these programs. This is why I patiently join these kinds of workshop to show them that all of these are worthwhile.”

The participants also thanked KALAHI-CIDSS, most especially the Area Coordinating Team (ACT), led by Talugtug Area Coordinator (AC) John Carlo Maglatang, for equipping them with tools and knowledge to become empowered members of the society. ### (MA. DENNIELLE M. LOMBOY)

SMILES OF SUCCESS. The community volunteers, along with the Area Coordinating Team (ACT) pose for a photo as the cycle two Criteria Setting Workshop (CSW) ends on Tuesday, July 20. After two days of intense discussion, the community volunteers came up with their own list of criteria for the selection of projects to be prioritized by the KALAHI-CIDSS, a community-empowerment program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). ### (MDMLomboy)

In his welcome address during the cycle two Criteria Setting Workshop (CSW) last July 19, Talugtug Municipal Mayor Quintino S. Caspillo Jr. encourages the community volunteers to determine the pressing problems in the community and work together to solve it. He also pledges support to the KALAHI-CIDSS in all its endeavors to empower the citizens in the community. ### (MDMLomboy)

To ensure full compliance on official procurement procedures, the Regional Program Management Office (RPMO) of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan–Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) Region 3 held its fourth Regional Fiduciary Workshop (RFW) last July 19-22 in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.

“We need to do this to determine and solve even the smallest loopholes in the procurement process,” said Hyacynth Rivera, regional capability building specialist of the KALAHI-CIDSS Region III.

Along with Rivera, the event was participated by Regional Finance Analyst Keisha Morales, Regional Community Infrastructure Specialist Ranel Lombres, finance analysts, area coordinators, community finance facilitators, and administrative officers.

The team conducted intense and participative discussions to determine the frequently occurring finance and procurement issues. Moreover, they devised ways on how to address these issues and prevent them from happening in the future.

“We should implement strict review standards of the procurement documents. From the documents, signatures, and stamping, we should make sure that all the requirements are complete,” suggested Peejay Morales, FA III.

Finance Analyst Keisha Morales also added, “Finance officers must reach out to all community-based finance and procurement personnel and educate them further on due process to prevent issues”.

As the RFW ended, the team was able to develop a proactive strategy on how to achieve full compliance from all concerned personnel in the finance and procurement process. ### (Ma. Dennielle M. Lomboy)

Some 73,225 older persons from Region 3 can now benefit from the door-to-door delivery of stipends/grants under the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens (SPISC) starting July 2016.

This developed after the renewal of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office III (DSWD FO III) and the Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) was executed on July 14, 2016.

The partnership has started in 2015 where 32,460 seniors aged 65 and above in selected cities and municipalities in Central Luzon.

The DSWD FO III will disburse the amount of P2,196,750 to 73,225 seniors aged 60 and above in 130 municipalities and cities in Central Luzon, Assistant Regional Director Venus Rebuldela said. The seniors were among the identified beneficiaries of SPISC based on the result of the data generated by the Listahanan or National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) of the DSWD.

DSWD, the lead agency in the implementation of the SPISC, has identified PVB which has the capabilities to perform the service of distributing the cash grants/stipends to SPISC beneficiaries in selected cities and municipalities in the region. PVB was procured through public bidding and the MOA is in accordance to RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

The PVB shall implement the pay-out of the grants/stipends to SPISC beneficiaries via door-to-door delivery in their respective addresses in accordance with the master list from DSWD. Pay-out should be completed within 30 calendar days from PVB’s receipt of the check and master list.

Based on the MOA, PVB shall release the grant only to the SPISC beneficiary and will not release the grant to a representative even if armed with a special power of attorney. PVB shall only pay beneficiaries who have complied with the requirements.

DSWD shall pay PVB a service fee of P100.00 for every grant/stipend successfully delivered and paid out.
To date, there are 73,225 indigent senior citizens who will be benefiting from SPISC in Region III. All of the target beneficiaries for 2016 are now covered by the door to door scheme, Rebuldela added.

The grant/stipend under the SPISC is an additional government assistance given to indigent senior citizens pursuant to Republic Act No. 9994 also known as Expanded Senior citizens Act of 2010. It aims to augment the daily subsistence and other medical needs of Filipino indigent senior citizens.

Under the operational guidelines issued by the DSWD, senior citizens who are 60 years old and above and who meet the eligibility criteria will benefit from this program. All qualified senior citizens shall receive their P500 monthly social pension on a quarterly basis in the first month of each quarter.

Indigent senior citizens are those who are frail, sick, disabled, not receiving monthly pension from Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), Armed Forces of the Philippines Savings and Loan Association, Inc. (AFPSLAI) and other private insurance companies. Senior citizens who do not have permanent source of income or regular support from their families or relatives are also qualified to avail of the program. ### (Evelyn T. Manalo)

“Naranasan ko ang paghahakot ng buhangin, bakal, at hollow blocks at pagsusulandra ng mga buhangin para magamit ng kasama kong trabahador. Kasama rin ako sa pag-check ng mga DTR (I experienced hauling sand, metal, and hollow blocks and filtering sand to help my fellow construction workers. I was also one of those who checked the DTR).”

These words were told by Rosanna DC. Perin, 42, as she recalled her days as a paid laborer during the construction of their community sub-project in Barangay Mataas na Kahoy, General Mamerto Natividad, Neva Ecija. Their community sub-project was funded by the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS, a program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Giving a quick glance on Perin, one would never have a clue that this petite lady with a bubbly personality would be able to work as a construction worker. “Katakot takot na sakripisyo ang aming naranasan noong una, ngunit [dahil] sa tulong at suporta ng aming kapitan, nagkaroon kami ng lakas ng loob para magpatuloy (At first, we were confronted with a lot of hardships. However, because of the assistance from our barangay captain, we gained the courage to go on),” she said.

Perin, along with her farmer husband, raises their six children. Admittedly, she said that her additional income from her construction work helped a lot in her family’s daily expenses. A Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiary, Perin is also known in her community as one of the most active volunteers.

Aside from being a member of the audit and inventory team, Perin monitors the laborers in the sub-project. “Nagkaroon ng pagsasaayos ng mga dokumento, paghahanap ng materyales, at pag-inventoy ng mga gamit na dumadating galing sa mga suppliers (We organized documents, looked for materials, and did inventory on equipment from the suppliers),” she added.

Committed to community service, Perin is honored to be one of the nominees in the Regional Search for Huwarang Pantawid Pamilya of the DSWD. According to her, being a barangay health worker for two years is enough to be called ‘huwaran’. She hopes that her dedication to volunteering becomes a great example to all the women in her community. Engagement to the community, according to Perin, is the key to women empowermement. ### (Ma. Denielle M. Lomboy/Manilyn B. Cruz)