Department of Agriculture (DA) OIC Regional Executive Director Valentino C. Perdido (center) read and reviewed the highlights of the minutes of the 4th RPAB meeting with RPAB 1 members Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Regional Director Homer P. Tobias (second from left), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Regional Director Florante O. Leal (extreme left), and Regional and Agri-Fishery Council Chairman Vincent A. Adorna (extreme right). RTD for Operations Dr. Paz Mones (second from right) joined the RPAB 1 members. RPAB 1 grants conditional approval to P366.04 M IBUILD subprojects
The Regional Project Advisory Board 1 (RPAB 1) granted conditional approval to P366.04M-worth Intensified Building Up of Infrastructure and Logistics for Development (IBUILD) subprojects of the Ilocos provinces during the 5th RPAB 1 Meeting held at Max’s Restaurant, San Fernando City, La Union on August 3, 2015.
During the meeting, RPAB members required all proposed subprojects for PRDP to acquire certification of “non-overlap” from government agencies which fund road rehabilitation and construction projects such as the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), among others. According to the Board, said Certification would ensure that there are no other road construction/rehabilitation that are to be done on road areas to be developed under PRDP which may cause the withdrawal of subprojects.
In addition, the RPAB members strongly suggested for the provinces to scout and propose none intermittent and continuous gravel roads, instead of funding rehabilitations of paved, but cracked and of poor standard roads. Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Regional Director Homer P. Tobias pointed out that the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) is a great opportunity to build roads where there are none. In support, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Regional Director Florante O. Leal said, “Kung ‘yong mga nagawa na at nasira ang gagawin, paano naman ‘yong mga Juan dela Cruz sa dulo na hindi pa naaabot? … Let’s bring about development to more people.”
The P366.04 million IBUILD subprojects comprise of the 12-kilometer Rehabilitation of the Billoca-San Juan Farm to Market Road (FMR) with Bridges in Batac City and Sarrat, Ilocos Norte worth around P168M; the 10.8-kilometer Gonzales-San Juan FMR in Umingan, Pangasinan worth P130M; the 3-kilometer Rehabilitation of the Parasapas FMR and the 60-lineal meter Rehabilitation of the Malicnao Bridge in Rosario, La Union worth P39M and P29M respectively.
The above-mentioned infrastructures compose the first batch of subprojects pipelined to be funded for CY 2016. The Regional Project Coordination Office 1 (RPCO 1) eyes a total of 2.2 billion-worth of infrastructure projects for 2016.
After the approval of the RPAB, the subprojects will undergo another cycle of review by the Luzon A Project Support Office (PSO) and the National Project Coordination Office (NPCO) before they will be released a No Objection Letter 1 (NOL 1).
The PRDP is a six-year national agri-fishery development project of the Department of Agriculture and the World Bank. With the high demand of infrastructure subprojects, however, funds allocated for such are almost exhausted. August 10, 2015 is the deadline of subproject endorsements to cluster offices to be funded for 2016. (Ilocos InfoACE)
Engr. Maria Teresa Bacnat of the Ilocos Norte PPMIU presented the province’s Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) for mango during the 5th RPAB 1 meeting.
RTD for Operations and RPCO 1 PRDP Focal Person Dr. Paz Mones acknowledged the 5th RPAB Meeting attendees and presented updates on the previously approved RPAB Resolutions and the Status of PRDP implementation in the region.
