MCA-P targets full disbursement of $120-M fund for Kalahi project

MANILA, Philippines - Millennium Challenge Account-Philippines (MCA-P), the entity accountable for the management and implementation of the $434-million compact from the US government’s Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC), is aiming for the full disbursement of the $120-million allotted for the Kalahi-CIDSS projects by next year.

Compacts are multi-year agreements between the MCC and a country to fund specific programs targeted at reducing poverty.

In a roundtable discussion with reporters, MCA-P managing director and chief executive officer Victoria Anoñuevo said they are on track with the Kalahi-CIDSS project.

Kalahi-CIDSS (Kapit-Bigis Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services) is a community driven-development project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development where communities and their local government units are trained to choose, design and implement sub-projects that address their needs.

The project has a total $120-million grant from MCC and is expected to benefit over five million beneficiaries over the next 20 years, with an economic rate of return of 13 percent.

“Next year, we already expect full disbursement of the amount,” Anonuevo said.

She said of the total project amount equivalent to P5.57 billion for the Kalahi-CIDSS, MCA-P has already disbursed P2 billion.

The funding went to 2,672 sub-projects prioritized by the communities, of which 1,648 projects have been completed.

The projects include those that provide basic social services such as school buildings, water systems, day care centers, health stations and river and flood control systems.

Farm-to-market roads, access trails or footpaths and foot bridges are also among the projects funded by the MCC for the Kalahi-CIDSS project, as well as drainage facilities, soil protection, sea walls, sanitation and solid waste management facilities.

There are also electrification and pre and post-harvest facilities.

Añonuevo attributed the success of the Kalahi-CIDSS project to strict monitoring on the part of MCA-P and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

 “There is strict monitoring and evaluation per month and per quarter,” she said.

She said the local government unit (LGU) that benefits from the project also provides a counterpart fund of 30 percent.

In all, she said the compact projects are expected to have demonstrable impacts on incomes of Filipinos, particularly the poor and on overall economic growth.

According to data from MCA-P, the project is expected to benefit over five million people by 2030 and the road project is expected to impact nearly 300,000 people.

The MCC is a US foreign assistance agency that funds projects that aim to address global poverty.

Aside from Kalahi-CIDSS, MCA-P has also funded other major projects that are seen to bring economic growth in the country: tax reform through Revenue Administration Reform Project (RARP) and roads rehabilitation in the island of Samar through Secondary National Roads Project (SNRDP).