Iligan City road projects seen

ILIGAN CITY–-“Naayo na ang among dalan. Dili na kami mahadlok mahulog sa kabayo nga kargahan sa produkto sa among uma paingon sa merkado sa lungsod.”(Our road had been improved. We are no longer afraid to fall from our horses when we bring our farm produce to the town market).

Thus expressed 50-year old Tago Batalo, a Maranao, on the road improvement project of their 4-kilometer stretch of road from the poblacion (town proper) to his area in Demarao, Bacolod, Lanao del Norte.

Elected Punong Barangay (Village Chief) in the area, Batalo said the completion of the project will also mean lower transportation cost for their farm produce when loaded in the motorela that ply the Demarao-Poblacion and vice-versa routes.

Once a volunteer of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s pet project in the fight against poverty which is the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS), Batalo said his voluntary work brought about his popularity among his village folks.

“In fact, my volunteer work with KALAHI-CIDSS has given me the comparative advantage over the other candidates and made me won in the electoral race ‘hands down’ without any expenditure on my part,” he said.

Likewise, it showed that the Maranaos and the Christians, alike, can live together in peace and harmony, as proven in my having been elected as their Village Chief, he added.

Batalo’s testimony came during the conduct of the “Mga Kwento ng Ani: Sharing Stories in Community Driven Development: The KALAHI-CIDSS Makamasang Tugon” Knowledge Café / Press Conference where he was made to talk on the subject of “Development is Good Politics” held in Bacolod, recently.

The activity was conducted to generate insights on the challenges of local officials of poor areas that faced the challenges of old politics, prompting people-centered development and creating a new political environment conducive to greater participation, transparency and accountability.

Identification of the project in his area was determined from a list drawn by the residents themselves during an assembly. “It was them who decided which one was the most needed,” Batalo qualified.

With a total project cost of Php633,686.53, of which Php514,938.14 was provided by the KALAHI-CIDSS grant and Php118,748.39 from the local counterpart contribution (LCC) of cash-in-kind, the project was started on March 23, 2009, and will be completed on June 21, also this year. (Rutchie Cabahug-Aguhob, Philippine Information Agency, Region 10)



KALAHI-CIDSS-Makamasang Tugon Program completes Php10.5M projects in Bacolod, Lanao del Norte



ILIGAN CITY–-At least Php10.5 million was spent to complete 14 sub-projects under the Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan–Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS)- Makamasang Tugon (MT) program in Bacolod town, Lanao del Norte.

Of this amount, Php8.0 million was provided by the KALAHI grant while Php2.5 million was provided in kind by the local government unit (LGU), Assistant Regional Director Aldersey Mumar Dela Cruz of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), region 10 said.

Dela Cruz said the KALAHI-CIDSS-MT program is actually an additional package of projects given to Bacolod for having successfully completed the implementation of the KALAHI-CIDSS Part I.

A pet project of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the KALAHI-CIDSS program was aimed at fighting poverty which was started in 2002 but was already phased out in the region, after their completion, as of December 2008, Dela Cruz, also said.

A 5th class municipality, Bacolod has 16 barangays, of which 14 were chosen to implement the 14 MT sub-projects in the following areas:

Road concreting involving 120 linear meters long, four (4) meters wide and six (6) inches thick, in Barangays Alegria, Demologan and Liangan East amounting to Php724,168.22, Php732,681.49 and Php718,923.67, respectively.

Road Improvement in Barangays Babalaya involving 800 meters long, Demarao, involving 4 km. and Minaulon involving 1.2 km. at Php704,161.10, Php633,686.53 and Php1.16 million, respectively.

Day Care Center Construction in Barangays Binuni, Delabayan West, and Pagayawan measuring 48 sq.m., at Php633.834.16, each.

Health Station Construction measuring 51 sq.m. in Barangays Mate and Rupagan at Php689,783.91, each.

Drainage Canal Construction in Barangay Esperanza involving 700 lm., Kahayag, 700 lm. and Poblacion, 200 lm., at Php674,314.37, Php.633,834.16 and Php1.237 million, respectively. (Rutchie Cabahug-Aguhob)