P28M worth of pro-poor projects launched in Maasin
Twenty-three infrastructure projects, worth a total of P28.349 million, were realized through the KALAHI-CIDSS Makamasang Tugon Project and were inaugurated simultaneously in the municipality of Maasin in Iloilo Friday last week.
Assistant Regional Director Joel P. Galicia of the Department of Social Welfare and Development 6 (DSWD-6) said that of the 23 completed projects, 17 are road networks.
The rest according to him are basic support services for the community such as day care centers, river protection, slope protection and school buildings and all these projects were identified and worked for by the communities themselves to help improve their situation.
Galicia said the mass project inauguration highlighted the culmination of the National Week for Overcoming Extreme Poverty which is being observed annually every October 17-23.
“The annual observance is our way of renewing our commitment and continuing to call on all sectors of the society to stand united in the fight against poverty while at the same time, recognizing the gains of various poverty alleviation initiatives of the government. One of which is the Makamasang Tugon Project,” Galicia added.
Similar to Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the Makamasang Tugon Project is the government’s revolutionary approach to combat poverty and is also under the priority program of President Gloria Arroyo. It is implemented by the DSWD with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). The Project employs the community-driven development (CDD) approach which gives the people control of decisions in identifying interventions that best respond to their immediate needs.
Before the mass turnover at Maasin Covered Gym, a project site visit was conducted in the 23 barangays in Maasin that have availed of the Makamasang Tugon Projects. A medical-dental mission was also organized by the Regional KALAHI Convergence Group (RKCG) in Brgy. Layog, a remote barangay in Maasin that has availed of a new road project from DSWD.
Joining the mass inauguration were Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas Raul Banias; 3rd District Cong. Arthur Defensor Sr.; Board Members Arthur Defensor Jr. Mariano Malones Sr., and Richard Garin; Maasin Mayor Mariano Malones Jr., and Dir. Zenaida Mabugat of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas.
