September 1 – 4 , 2015

After the WB Implementation Support Mission to Luzon B Cluster in Palawan, the team proceeded to Luzon A Cluster, which covers the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and Cordillera regions.

The province of Isabela hosted the first two days of the Luzon A Cluster mission. As with the previous cluster, it also featured an exhibit showcasing updates on the sub-projects, as well as products from the sub-project sites.

After the opening of the exhibit, national and cluster updates were presented in the opening program. A press conference followed.

Simultaneous breakout sessions for World Bank team members with their counterparts from the PRDP implementing offices and units were held later. A meeting with contractors was likewise conducted alongside the breakout sessions.

On the mission’s second day, the team visited the the PRDP’s I-BUILD (infrastructure development) and I-REAP (enterprise development) sub-projects in the municipality of Mallig in the northwestern part of Isabela. Separate consultation meetings with the stakeholders of the projects—namely, the Olango-Siempre Viva-Trinidad-Manano farm-to-market road and the Isabela Dairy Enterprise—were also held.

The mission culminated with an exit conference where general findings of the mission were presented and discussed. (Photos by Joseph Caldino, PRDP-NPCO and Mark Erron San Mateo, PRDP-RPCO 3)