As one of the heavily stricken areas by typhoon Nona, the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Sorsogon submitted 14 microenterprise subproject proposals to help the community re-establish their means of livelihood. Ten of the submitted proposals have been approved and issued with No Objection Letter 1 (NOL 1).

In pursuit of the systematic development of the microenterprise subprojects, the PRDP Bicol Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCO) enterprise development (I-REAP) component and Procurement Unit conducted the Pre-Implementation and Procurement Training on Microenterprise Subprojects for the province of Sorsogon at the Pili Commercialization Center, OPAg Compound, Sorsogon City.

Bicol RPCO I-REAP PDA, Glenn Balana and Sorsogon LGU I-REAP staff Esteven Garcia cautiously review the attached documents of the submitted project proposals of the 10 proponent groups. (Photo by: Michelle Angela G. Alfigura, DA-PRDP RPCO 5 InfoACE Unit)

The said training aimed to cultivate and strengthen the effective coordination between the RPCO components and units especially on the procurement progress of the subprojects under I-REAP, and to finalize the Work and Financial Plan (WFP) and the Procurement Plan for a smooth project implementation.

During the training, Bicol RPCO I-REAP PDA Glenn Balana addressed the findings given by the Project Support Office during the review of the submitted procurement plans. Issues and concerns were immediately addressed after the short consultation with the proponent groups.

On the other hand, Procurement PDA Jesti Bergantin instructed the proponent groups about the procurement timelines, subproject packages and the tranches for the finalization of proposals parallel to the cost sharing based on the NOL 1 issued for  the microenterprise subprojects for the calamity-stricken areas.

Sorsogon LGU I-REAP component staff Esteven Garcia reminded the proponent groups to “stick to the guidelines and follow the prescribe timelines” in order to fast track the subproject implementation.

Bicol RPCO Finance Analyst Francis Llesis plans to conduct a PLGU Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) meeting to discuss the target procurement timelines and finalize the mode of procurement for the items to be purchased. ### (Michelle Angela G. Alfigura, DA-PRDP RPCO 5 InfoACE Unit)

Bicol RPCO I-REAP PDA Glenn Balana shares the subproject findings of the PSO that are subject to changes and modification. (Photo by: Michelle Angela G. Alfigura, DA-PRDP RPCO 5 InfoACE Unit)