Aiming to further strengthen Project implementation, the PRDP South Luzon Project Support Office (PSO) spearheaded a series of meetings with its regional counterparts.

This undertaking particularly seeks to review the cluster’s performance for the past year, identify gaps and issues that hamper their functions, and set strategies to improve performances.

The first leg of the activity kicked off in Batangas City with the CALABARZON Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO) on January 25, 2021, followed by the MIMAROPA RPCO on February 8, 2021 in Quezon  City, and Bicol RPCO on February 16, 2021 via Webex.

Cluster’s accomplishment, issues, and concerns

In the three activities, Arvin San Juan, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer presented a brief overview of the accomplishments of the three regions for 2020.

For the I-BUILD component, CALABARZON has nine completed and 12 ongoing infrastructure subprojects, while MIMAROPA and Bicol have ten and four; and 14 and 5, respectively. As for the enterprise (I-REAP) subprojects, there are ten completed and 12 ongoing in CALABARZON, ten and nine for MIMAROPA, and 21 and five for Bicol. Furthermore, the South Luzon cluster has 40 approved Value Chain Analysis.

After the presentation of accomplishments, each component and unit also presented the issues and concerns that they encountered in the project implementation, followed by an open forum, to come up with an action plan to improve their processes and resolve issues.

PRDP NPCO OIC-Deputy Project Director Shandy Hubilla, who is also the PRDP South Luzon PSO Deputy Project Director, then encouraged the components that despite the restrictions due to different calamities, continue to work closely and strengthen collaboration with the local government units to monitor their commitments, particularly on the disbursement as well as to obtain more project proposals.

Output-based performance evaluation profile

In line with optimizing the Project’s management system towards effectively delivering its mandate for their partners, beneficiaries, and for the local agriculture and fishery sector as a whole, all PRDP hired staff were instructed to carefully review and analyze their Performance Evaluation Profiles (PEPs) and reset their individual target and deliverables into output-based.

The PEP is essential for PRDP as it would identify whether the Project has been effectively discharging their duties and tasks in line with their development objectives.

Director Hubilla also stressed in his message that the work assignments and activities given to a particular staff significantly contribute to enhancing the performance of the Project.

Warm welcome for the new PSO Project Director

As part of the activity, the PSO and RPCOs formally welcomed the new PSO Project Director, Vilma Dimaculangan.

On her message during the meeting with the CALABARZON RPCO, Director Dimaculangan thanked the PRDP staff for welcoming her and expressed that each of them must know their respective roles in achieving targets. She also asked them to give their commitment and dedication to the Project implementation as this is also significant to achieve the country’s food security.“Let us all help and support each other for the success of the Project. As we are in the last phase of the implementation, we must give all our efforts as well as our resources, commitment, and dedication. Also, let us all be professional in executing all our activities,” Director Dimaculangan said. # (Lea P. Caliuag, DA-PRDP South Luzon InfoACE Unit)

The PRDP CALABARZON RPCO Project Director, Dennis Arpia, addresses the issues and concerns raised by the PSO to the region.

The PRDP NPCO OIC-Deputy Project Director and South Luzon PSO Deputy Project Director, Shandy Hubilla, gives his welcome message during the meeting with MIMAROPA RPCO.

A screenshot of the meeting of PSO South Luzon and Bicol RPCO.