Outstanding local government units and regional offices were given recognition during the general assembly of the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) North Luzon cluster on January 30 in Angeles City, Pampanga.

A total of 29 major awards and 64 special recognitions were given to LGUs and RPCOs with exemplary performances in terms of subproject implementation and monitoring for the year 2019.

Among the provinces that bagged the major awards were Ilocos Norte and Isabela, who were recipients of the best I-BUILD implementation in the cluster. The Municipality of Currimao, Ilocos Norte was awarded with the best farm-to-market road (Tapao Tigue – Poblacion 2 – Sta. Cruz – Lang-ayan FMR), while the province of Ilocos Norte won the best bridge (San Pedro Bridge and Pandan Bridge). The province of Isabela bagged two awards under this category – best civil works (Tilapia Production and Marketing Warehouse) and best irrigation (Capirpiriwan Diversion Dam).

The I-BUILD component also awarded LGUs with outstanding operations and maintenance (O&M) of completed subprojects. The province of La Union was awarded best O&M for FMR (Balecbec- Basca FMR), and the municipality of Manaoag, Pangasinan won best SPs both for bridge (Oraan Bridge with Approaches) and civil works (Municipal Warehouse with Multi-Purpose Drying Pavement). The province of Isabela with its subproject Capirpiriwan Diversion Dam was again awarded the best irrigation in terms of O&M.

Under the Enterprise Component, the RAMCOR Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Ramon, Isabela was awarded as the proponent group with the best I-REAP subproject in terms of enterprise operations (Tilapia Production and Marketing Enterprise).

This is followed by Pulong Buli MPC in Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija (Onion Enterprise), Sagada Arabica Coffee Growers and Processors Organization (Coffee Processing with Cupping Laboratory) and Conconig East Farmers MPC in Santa Lucia, Ilocos Sur (Integrated Quality Peanut Seed Production and Farm Service Enterprise).

Ilocos Region and the province of Quirino were recognized top performers in terms of I-REAP physical progress, while Central Luzon is the most productive region in terms of subproject generation.

Best supporting units and LGUs

Units under the I-SUPPORT Component also gave awards and recognitions. The Cagayan Valley Region was awarded as the most improved RPCO Procurement Unit for C.Y 2019.

The Procurement Unit also recognized the Municipality of Paoay, Ilocos Norte as the fastest LGU to complete procurement process for I-BUILD under NPCO threshold (Paoay Communal Irrigation System), while the Municipality of Bauko, Mt. Province is the fastest to complete procurement for regular I-REAP subprojects (Potato Tubers Production and Marketing).

Under the Finance Unit, Cagayan Valley Region and Palayan City in Nueva Ecija are the most efficient in I-BUILD Disbursement for 2019, while Ilocos Region is the most efficient in I-REAP disbursement.

Cagayan Valley and the province of Bataan are top performers in terms of cumulative financial progress for I-REAP.

Central Luzon is the most efficient region in Monitoring and Evaluation, while the Cordillera Administrative Region is the most compliant under the Geomapping and Governance Unit (GGU).

GGU also recognized the developers of the GeoCam and GeoData Organizer – innovations that are being utilized for upgraded monitoring. These were awarded to the RPCO1 GGU and to Mr. Leomark Baldoz of the DA-RFO1.

Special awards were also given to the municipalities of Alcala, Alaminos, Umingan and Manaoag in Pangasinan, as well as to Ramon and Santiago City, Isabela to acknowledge the successful hosting and conduct of the World Bank Implementation Support Missions last June and November 2019.

Spearheaded by the Project Support Office Luzon A, the cluster general assembly is an annual gathering of key personnel and staff from the national, cluster, regional, provincial, municipal and city offices under PRDP that aims to discuss the progress and achievement of the whole cluster for the previous year. (Kayla Arceo, North Luzon InfoACE)