The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has allotted some P7.1 million to construct four bridges this year to improve the mobility of residents, especially children, in rural communities under the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) program.
On Thursday, the agency said this is in keeping with one of President Marcos’ directives in his recent State of the Nation Address (SONA), to provide safer passage for children on their way to school.
According to KALAHI-CIDSS National Program Manager (NPM), Director Bernadette Mapue-Joaquin, the program is a significant development that uses the community-driven-development (CDD) approach.
“KALAHI-CIDSS believes in the important contribution of community members for addressing problems in their community. This is the spirit of the CDD approach, which is the heart of KALAHI-CIDSS. In this program, they themselves analyzed the condition of their community, identified, planned, and designed priority programs that would respond to the existing problem,” she said in Filipino.
Among the infrastructure subprojects which came into fruition through the program were two completed footbridge subprojects in Barangays Guinlin and Mate in Tigbao, Zamboanga del Sur.
Last July 14, the community members and officials of Barangay Guinlin celebrated the turnover of their new footbridge funded by the KALAHI-CIDSS through a grant amounting to P650,260.15, with a mere P8,000 fund counterpart contribution from the municipal and barangay local government units (LGUs).
In Barangay Mate, a bridge subproject was also completed, benefiting 225 households. The bridge construction incurred a total KALAHI-CIDSS grant of P995,810.45, with the LGU contributing P8,000 as counterpart.
The KALAHI-CIDSS director pointed out that the KALAHI-CIDSS also has two more ongoing bridge subprojects under the Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay (KKB) modality.
“There are two more bridges that are set to be completed before the year ends with a 2-million peso grant for each subproject. Yung una ay nasa Romblon Province in Barangay Danao, Cajidiocan at yung isa ay sa Camarines Sur, specifically in Barangay Calawit, San Jose. Inaasahan namin na pag natapos ang mga tulay, makakatulong ito upang magbigay ng ligtas na daan sa mga residente ng lugar,” Mapue-Joaquin said.
Another footbridge in Barangay Pisompongan, Midsalip in Zamboanga del Sur, was added this year as an urgent response to the viral video of students crossing a raging river that circulated online, with a funding of P1.35 million targeted for completion within the first semester of 2026.
Bridges in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) help connect communities to basic services and livelihood opportunities. It makes it easier for people, goods, and services to move, giving better access to healthcare, education, markets, and promoting inclusive growth and sustainable development.
The KALAHI-CIDSS is one of the poverty alleviation programs of the Philippine government that trains and engages communities together with municipal and barangay LGUs to identify, design, and implement development projects to address their most pressing needs.
