Newly and re-elected local executives and key officials of the provinces of Abra and Ifugao were briefed and reoriented on Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP).

Held on the 23^rd (in Banaue, Ifugao) and 25^th(in Bangued, Abra) of August 2016, the Regional Project Coordination Office – Cordillera Administrative Region (RPCO-CAR) continued the reorientation series to update the LGUs on the status of PRDP project implementation and inform them on the roles and linkages of each project components/ units as well as their functions and responsibilities as implementers.

During the orientation, DA-CAR Regional Executive Director and PRDP Project Director Lorenzo M. Caranguian advised the LGUs to coordinate with the Provincial Project Management and Implementing Unit (PPMIU) to ensure that proposed projects within their municipalities are included in the Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP).

Concerns on pipelined Farm-to-Market Road (FMR) subprojects were raised during the open forum which includes, among others, the possibility of transferring pipelined FMR projects to the areas with a more difficult access road and the inclusion of additional subprojects in the PCIP.

As per PRDP guidelines, it was explained that projects proposed under PRDP are commodity-based wherein each FMR subproject supports a production area of a certain commodity and should be included in the PCIP. Additional subprojects on the other hand, can be included during the updating of the PCIPs.

In Abra, the identified priority commodities are coffee, mango and cattle; and in Ifugao, coffee, banana and heirloom rice.

Further, Engr. Danilo P. Daguio, RPCO Deputy Project Director, advised the LGU participants to submit all proposals for PRDP funding to the PLGU since it is the entry point of the Project.

“Proposals from the municipal level may be accepted at the regional office. However, interested LGUs must first enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with PRDP”, he said.

Moreover, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (PMED) Chief and I-PLAN Component Head Susan D. Balanza also presented the regional plans and programs of DA for the Agriculture and Fishery Sectors.

“The subprojects included in the PCIP may not be supported under PRDP alone, but it may also be financed by the regular programs of the DA and the other agencies,”explained Balanza.

As direct implementers of subprojects under PRDP, the reorientation serves as a starter for LGUs to be guided on the processes, specifically from selecting a provincial winning commodity up to the ranking of subprojects to be implemented supporting the development of a certain commodity industry. (Elvy Taquio, RPCO-CAR InfoACE)