By Yvonne Gracious T. Elegado

 

The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office Cordillera Administrative Region (DSWD FO CAR), through the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan–Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) Program, conducted Local Government Unit (LGU) Capacity Assessment from 13 – 15 October 2026, to evaluate the readiness of municipalities targeted for program implementation in Calendar Year 2027.

The activity covered six municipalities under two KALAHI-CIDSS modalities. For the Panahon ng Pagkilos: Philippine Community Resilience Project (PCRP), the four additional municipalities of Lagayan, Pilar, Tineg, and Villaviciosa in Abra were evaluated for Batch 2 implementation in 2027.

Meanwhile, Natonin and Tadian in Mountain Province were evaluated under the Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay–Community-Driven Development (KKB-CDD) modality. All participating LGUs passed the evaluation.

The activity examined the LGUs’ institutional readiness across key areas, including organizational structure, personnel competence, management systems, enabling policies, knowledge management, and leadership.

It also helped municipal officials better understand their commitments and responsibilities under the program, particularly in promoting good governance, effective resource management, disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and inclusive, community-driven development.

The results will guide the provision of tailored technical assistance and capacity-building interventions based on each municipality’s needs, helping strengthen local government capacities for the effective and sustainable implementation of PCRP and KKB-CDD in 2027.