The Philippine Rural Development Program held a three-part training on the Expanded Vulnerability and Suitability Assessment (E-VSA), Results-based Monitoring and Evaluation (RBME), and Applied Geotagging Technology (AGT), for the Luzon B cluster last February 10 to 14, 2013 at Oriental Hotel, Legazpi City.

In his welcome remarks, Governor Joey Sarte Salceda cited two sectors that will contribute significantly to inclusive development.  “Given the high cost electricity in the country, we are not in a position to compete with China particularly in terms of manufacturing.  However, we do have two sectors that will make growth more inclusive and alleviate poverty: agriculture and tourism”.  Gov. Salceda lauded the efforts of DA in bringing the innovative program management systems and tools of the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP) to the rest of the country thru the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP).

Director Shandy M. Hubilla, Luzon B Program Support Office (PSO) Director, presented program updates and the 2014 Luzon B cluster budget and targets. He encouraged the provincial local government units (PLGUs) to identify and geotag the road segments that will be most beneficial to the priority commodity even as the value chain analysis (VCA) and the provincial commodity investment plan (PCIP) are being formulated. “We have targets to meet this year. And for us to do that, we can’t afford to be very sequential in our approach.”  Dir. Hubilla also shared the relevance and possible applications of the different program tools in PRDP.  He said that while the E-VSA is useful in prioritizing municipalities in the PCIP since it takes into account crop suitability, vulnerability, and other socio-economic indicators like production and poverty incidence, the AGT and RBME are proven to be effective mechanisms for undertaking program M&E and eliciting citizens feedback.

NPCO Geomapping Unit Head Mr. Sam Belamide led the training on the E-VSA and the AGT. He was assisted by Mr. Joseph Pacon, NPCO Geotagging Officer.  On the other hand, NPCO Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Alternate Unit Head Mr. Jourvin Barrera trained the participants on the RBME forms and reporting schedules.

There were 101 participants  from the NPCO/Luzon B PSO, three Regional Program Coordination Offices (IV-A, IV-B, and V), and six Provincial Program Management and Implementing Units (PPMIUs) of Batangas, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Albay, Camarines Norte, and Camarines Sur.