The Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) is just one of the foreign-funded special projects being implemented by our national government. With more than a hundred rural interventions across the country, it has its different components and units that facilitate and provide assistance in the execution of its various services to its beneficiaries and engagement with its partners.

In the MIMAROPA Region alone, there are currently 14 approved and 13 pipelined subprojects under the infrastructure development component; and 31 approved and one pipelined under the enterprise development component. Under the planning component, there are 13 approved value chain analysis (VCA) documents spread among the different top agricultural commodities in the region; and two research studies as a support to the implementation of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Plan (AFMP).

Beginning 2014, the DA-PRDP have since developed its own tools, strategies, and good practices on how to effectively deliver its mandate to its recipients. However, because of the Coronavirus pandemic, the different aspects of the Project’s operations from top to bottom were greatly challenged. There was a need to reinvent the Project’s means and ways to be able to adapt to the new normal way of living and a lot of changes had to be made to enable the continuous delivery of its services to beneficiaries.

Still, navigating the situation was not an easy feat. The restriction of movements due to provincial, city, and municipal lockdowns also limited the opportunity of technical consultants to monitor and inspect ongoing interventions. While each component and unit of the Project have their own representatives from partner local government units (LGUs), this did not guarantee manpower since every LGU are also mostly doing their own COVID-19 response.

Through the use of modern technology, the MIMAROPA Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO) utilized digital communication to continue its support services to its beneficiaries. For the first time, an online project advisory board meeting was conducted to deliberate proposed subprojects from the Provinces of Palawan, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, and Romblon. Among others, the RPCO also conducted online pre-construction conferences, management meetings, and regular consultations with implementing units as well as proponent groups. 

Last June 2020, the World Bank conducted the first implementation support mission through videoconference where the Project’s interventions were evaluated through audio visual presentations instead of actual site visits. The RPCO, through the Puerto Princesa City Project Management and Implementing Unit (CPMIU), conducted documentation of the enterprise subproject that was later on presented to the World Bank team.

In cases where travel is allowed but only limited, the cooperation of components, units, LGUs, proponent groups and other beneficiaries also became an enabling factor in providing simple photo and video documentation of various interventions and relevant activities in the rural areas. As a result of these responses, the MIMAROPA RPCO was able to continue subproject implementation and maintain real-time updates particularly on the physical progress of its subprojects. ### – Leira Vic Colongon, DA-PRDP MIMAROPA RPCO InfoACE Unit

The MIMAROPA RPCO also conducted an online Regional Project Advisory Board (RPAB) Business Meeting where four (4) new subprojects were deliberated and approved in the Provinces of Palawan, Romblon, Occidental Mindoro, and the Municipality of Aborlan, Palawan.

Despite the limitations on travelling, the MIMAROPA RPCO was able to conduct a Preconstruction Conference prior to the implementation and construction of the Upgrading/Concreting of Brgy. Poblacion FMR in Occidental Mindoro.