The Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO) of PRDP CALABARZON conducted a management meeting with the different local government units (LGUs) on June 18 to strengthen commitment of LGUs and their contractors to build quality farm-to-market roads (FMR).

Department of Agriculture CALABARZON Regional Director Arnel De Mesa presided the meeting with the RPCO Project Director Felix Ramos and Deputy Project Director Abelardo Bragas. Director De Mesa is also the South Luzon Project Support Office Project Director.

“The number of ongoing subprojects in CALABARZON area is increasing. We want to make sure that all of these subprojects will be completed. This meeting is one of the initiatives of our office in helping to increase our physical accomplishment and disbursement rate,” DPD Bragas said.

Seven local project management and implementing units (PMIUs) with subprojects either under implementation or for implementation participated and expressed their commitment for the subprojects during the meeting. These include municipal government of Luisina in Laguna,  provincial government of Quezon, its municipal governments in Lucban, Polillo, Sampaloc, and Macalelon, and city government in Lucena.

During the meeting, Director De Mesa enjoined every LGU to be focused on the implementation of these subprojects by stationing their own personnel on project sites. “We want to ensure that all subprojects are being built under the specifications written in the plan. Our technical staff cannot visit every week so you also function as our eyes on the field,” he further added.

Director De Mesa likewise requested the PMIUs and the contractors to watch the construction schedule of their respective subprojects closely and include all possible scenarios that may cause implementation delay in their catch-up plans.

The attendees were reminded that beneficiaries have been hoping for these projects for a long time. “We have already heard from our project affected persons and other beneficiaries how long they have waited for the concreting of their road. We want to make sure that the finished project will be worth the wait,” he stated.

The project management also mandated all PRDP staff, particularly those from I-BUILD and I-REAP components, Social and Environmental Safeguards Unit, Geomapping and Governance Unit, and Economics Unit, to provide all the necessary support they can give in order for the subprojects to be completed.

Management meeting is a venue for consensual resolution for issues related to subprojects between the PRDP, the LGU, and concerned contractor. ###(Lawrence Albert Bariring, DA-PRDP CALABARZON RPCO InfoACE Unit)

Engr. Mohammad Abdul Omar from the local government unit of Polillo, Quezon shares the status of the subproject in their town.

DA CALABARZON Regional Director Arnel De Mesa, also the Project Director of PRDP-South Luzon Project Support Office, discusses the issues and concerns of the subprojects included in the management meeting. (Photos by Lawrence Bariring)