Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB) members headed by regional executive director Marilyn Sta. Catalina sign the approval of two I-BUILD sub-projects in Kalinga and Mountain Province during a meeting held on August 11 at the AIM Igorot Lodge in Camp John Hay, Baguio City.

BAGUIO CITY–   A major milestone in the Department of Agriculture’s (DA)-Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP)   has been underscored when members of the Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB) approved the 291 million-peso worth of infrastructure sub-project proposals for Kalinga and Mountain Province during the 1^st Cordillera RPAB meeting held on August 11 at the AIM  Igorot Lodge in Camp John Hay.

These are the improvement of Banneng Gombowoy farm-to-market road (FMR) in Tanudan, Kalinga  with a total length of 13 kilometers  costing  Php 101,837,500.00 and the Besao-Nacawang FMR in Besao and Tadian-Mabalite  FMR  in Tadian in Mountain Province with a total length of 20.71 kilometers costing Php190 million.

Convinced of the completeness of the documents presented, members of the RPAB headed by regional director Marilyn Sta. Catalina unanimously approved the two I-BUILD sub-projects in support to strengthening the coffee industry in the region.

“The approved sub-project proposals shall be endorsed by the Regional Program Coordinating Office (RPCO) CAR to the Project Support Office (PSO) Cluster A or the National Program Coordinating Office (NPCO) or the World Bank. The LGUs may then proceed with the bidding and implementation of the sub-projects,” Engr. Danilo P. Daguio, OIC assistant regional director and RPCO CAR focal person said.

RPAB approval is only one of the steps that the proposals will have to go through prior to implementation.

Also gracing the meeting were the representatives from the local government units (LGUs) of Kalinga and Mountain Province, Provincial Program Management Implementing Units (PPMIUs), PRDP RPCO, PSO and NPCO.  (ma. isabel zabala)