BUTUAN CITY, July 10 -– The majority of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) communities within the ancestral domains in Caraga region have adopted the Disaster Response Operation Procedure (DROP) implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to fight the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

DSWD, through the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) PAMANA IP CDD Program has conducted a series of municipal orientations, including tribal meetings, on the DROP.

There is a manual on DROP, which should be followed by the Area Coordinating Team (ACT) in implementing the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) KALAHI CIDSS – National Community-Driven Development Program (KC-NCDDP) in areas struck by disasters. The manual is presented in three parts: The first part on the specific measures of DROP implementation; the second part on how to facilitate each activity of the DROP; and, third part the Annex which provides further details to the relevant sections.

The use of the DROP shall be triggered by a “declaration of state of calamity” covering a barangay, several barangays, or the entire municipality, and LGU decision to use DROP through a Sanggunian Bayan (SB) Resolution, subject to Sub-Regional Program Management Office (SRPMO) and RPMO approval.

With this, the IP communities involved would also take their part in the implementation of said procedure.

PAMANA (PAyapa and MAsaganang PamayaNAn), under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), is the government’s framework for peace and development. It is implemented in conflict-affected communities, as well as in areas covered by existing peace agreements.

Kalahi-CIDSS falls under the second strategic pillar of the PAMANA framework, which is building resilient communities.

The project objective is to improve the access of Kalahi-CIDSS areas classified as conflict-affected barangays (CABs) to basic social services and responsive, transparent, and accountable local governments. (DSWD-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)