With the goal of firming up the Project Information Management System and strengthening the practice of transparency in the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS), the Agency’s community-driven (CDD) development program, started off the geo-tagging of sub-projects in some municipalities in the Zamboanga Peninsula.
Monitoring and Evaluation Officer IV Mr. Rodolfo Nillosquin III, together with Regional Infrastructure Assistant Ms. Chona Gorda, visited the municipalities of Kumalarang, Zamboanga del Sur and Kabasalan and Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay to conduct geo-tagging during their sub-project inspection. Mr. Nillosquin explained that through geo-tagging, project stakeholders and even the public can readily check the status of the infrastructures built through Kalahi-CIDSS in the different localities through Google Earth, a web-based application. “All they have to do is download the application. While browsing the map, there are labels and pinned locations where the subproject is located, a tracked trail to guide you on how to get Geo tagging is an Information Communication Technology tool where digital resources are associated with physical location through pictures, videos and other forms of media with corresponding coordinates. Geo-tagging can help users find a wide variety of location-specific information”, he said.
Mr. Nillosquin explained how geo-tagging will be able to help promote transparency and minimize the risk of corruption of the program’s resources. “Ghost projects will now be eliminated as this ensures the public that the picture attached in that specific location is the real image of the project built in the said site”, he said.
As of press time, the Regional Program Management Team of KC has geo-tagged a total of 59 sub-projects in 6 municipalities including municipalities of Tabina, Tukuran and Tigbao, Zamboanga del Sur.
Regional Program Coordinator Marilyn Fabian clarified that there is no projected timeline to geo-tag all the sub-projects in region IX. “We are not chasing on any due date to finish all the sub-projects to be geo-tagged. The goal is to do geo-tagging activity alongside regular Kalahi-CIDSS activities if opportunity warrants.” Fabian stated.
On the other hand, DSWD Regional Director Zenaida L. Arevalo is positive that this initiative will bring good results for both the Department and the public in terms of monitoring government projects. “The geo-tagging will continue until all the Kalahi-CIDSS subprojects in all areas will be covered. We take pride and honor to benchmark and institutionalize this innovative tool in our agency to validate and monitor infrastructure projects and thereby promote transparency, accountability, and efficient and cost-effective project management in remote areas. Kalahi-CIDSS will continue to embark on undertakings which are deemed necessary for the improvement of the program and the welfare of the people”, said Director Arevalo.
Kalahi-CIDSS is one of the three core social protection programs of DSWD in combating poverty. It uses the community-driven development (CDD) strategy to empower ordinary citizens to actively and directly participate in local governance by identifying their own community needs, planning, implementing, and monitoring projects together to address local poverty issues.
Prepared by:
Lei Madeline S. Mohammad
SMO-KC
Noted by:
Marilyn Fabian
RPC-KC
Approved for Posting/Publishing:
Zenaida L. Arevalo
Regional Director