Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Friday, 24 October 2025, accompanied President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during a visit to a child development center (CDC) built under the agency’s Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) in Brgy. La Paz, Santiago, Agusan del Norte.

Upon arrival, President Marcos thanked KALAHI-CIDSS volunteers for their role in promoting community-driven development.

“Maraming salamat sa inyo,” he told volunteer-residents of Brgy. La Paz.

Secretary Gatchalian informed the President that the CDD project was completed in August 2023 and has served as a safe and nurturing learning space for the children in the barangay.

The daycare center was built with a P3,045,187 budget and has benefitted 148 households in Brgy. La Paz.

Due to weak internet connectivity at the facility, President Marcos turned over a Starlink internet system to the school administrators to enhance digital access for learners and community members.

The President and Secretary Gatchalian also distributed school bags to the CDC students.

Other officials present included DSWD Operations Group Undersecretary Monina Josefina Romualdez, DSWD Field Office Caraga Regional Director Mari-Flor Dollaga, Santiago Municipal Vice Mayor Zenaida Lim, and La Paz Punong Barangay Benjamin Lim Jr.

The KALAHI-CIDSS program uses a community-driven development strategy to ensure people-centered development by providing assistance, capacity-building, and implementation support to poverty-disadvantaged and disaster-affected municipalities. Community members actively participate to identify and prioritize problems and design, implement, and manage solutions.