While urban people have to deal with traffic snarl, rural people have to deal with road snags brought about by bumpy and dilapidated roads which delay travel and transport of products. Most of the time many of the perishable goods are wasted or damaged or are sold in a very low price due to the long hours of travel.

The Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) aims to reduce this development constraint in the countryside by providing key infrastructures, facilities, technology, and information to help the community raise their income, productivity, and competitiveness with the assistance of their respective Local Government Units (LGU).

To date, there are 10 on-going I-BUILD subprojects in the province of Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Albay and Masbate, which are strictly being implemented in accordance with the quality standards of the World Bank.

Recently, a Joint Technical Review was conducted to examine the new subproject proposals submitted by the provinces and municipalities who are interested to have PRDP projects in their community. The five (5) subproject proposals were duly reviewed by the I-BUILD Engineers, together with representatives from GGU, ECON and SES Units, to know the issues and concerns in each proposal. This was done simultaneously with preparation of the required documents for the subproject approval.

Engr. Arnie Ilan, I-BUILD component head, encouraged the LGUs to follow the 3C’s: completeness, correctness, and consistency in finalizing their project proposals to facilitate the issuance of the No Objection Letter 1 (NOL 1).

Further, the Contractors of the on-going subprojects as well as the Provincial Local Government Units (PLGUs) were also invited for a meeting to discuss and get updates on the comments and recommendations of the NPCO-PSO and RPCO RIE’s during their site visit and validation. They were also reminded of the importance of the construction quality and strict compliance of the timelines given to each subproject.

It was agreed to have a regular Contractor’s Meeting to discuss issues and concerns and to come up with action plans to fast track the construction of the subprojects.  They are also encouraged to have a good performance and high accomplishments for easy approval of the future projects. ### (Michelle Angela G. Alfigura, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

RPCO V Deputy Project Director/I-REAP Component head, Adelina A. Losa, together with Engr. Marianne Ariño, Engr. Jimbo Bjorn Salceda and Engr. Joel Catimbang assist the Provincial Project Management Unit (PPMIU) of Camarines Sur in determining their physical target for this year. (Photo by: Michelle Angela G. Alfigura, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

PSO Deputy Project Director Shandy Hubilla encourages the PPMIUs and the different contractors to strive for high accomplishment and good performance per province for easy approval of the future projects. (Photo by: Michelle Angela G. Alfigura, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

NPCO RIE Engr. Arnold Bacnog and PSO RBS Engr. Ma. Elena Collo reviews the detailed engineering design for the proposed Rehabilitation of Cumadcad-Canjela Farm to Market Road in Castilla, Sorsogon. (Photo by: Michelle Angela G. Alfigura, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)

RPCO V Social Environment Safeguards Unit Staff, Cherry Soribello and Teresita Blanqueza go over the submitted documents of LGU Tabaco Albay for their proposed Rehabilitation/Improvement of Hacienda to Rawis Farm to market Road. (Photo by: Michelle Angela G. Alfigura, DA-PRDP RPCO V InfoACE Unit)