RPCO 1 aims to access PRDP subprojects for all 12 districts in Region 1
According to RPCO 1 I-SUPPORT Component Head Ms. Sharon Viloria, “Although the PRDP has no allocation for each province, municipality, or district, we must at least attain for equitable distribution of PRDP subprojects for the benefit of all.”
Five out of 12 districts in the Ilocos Region are yet to access PRDP subprojects. Based on the data from the Management Information System (MIS), Districts 3, 4, and 6 in Pangasinan, District 1 in La Union District, and District 2 in Ilocos Norte are yet to access PRDP subprojects.
To respond to the above information and to assess the implementation progress of PRDP in the Region, the Regional Project Coordination Office 1 (RPCO 1) with the Provincial and Municipal Project Management and Implementation Units (P/MPMIU) held a CY 2018 Mid-Year Performance Assessment at Ridgewood Hotel, Baguio City on August 14-16, 2018.
During the assessment, the Status of PRDP Implementation, Updates on Economic Guidelines for enterprise and infrastructure subprojects, Recommendations of the World Bank after the 6th Implementation Support Mission, Financial Updates, and Procurement Status of Subprojects were presented to the participants.
For infrastructure subprojects, the Province of Ilocos Norte has the largest share in Region 1 with a total portfolio of Php 285.95 million. It ranks 4th among the 22 provinces of the Luzon A Cluster and 7th among the 81 provinces in the country. For enterprise subprojects, the Province of Pangasinan accounts for 49% in the Region’s portfolio or a total cost of Php 59.08 million.
RPCO 1 Procurement Unit Head and RTD for Operations Erlinda F. Manipon further encouraged PRDP LGU counterparts and said, “This is not only for our own achievement. Let us think that what we do will help our clients, our farmers.”
For the first semester, the RPCO 1 has 72% disbursement performance for infrastructure subprojects and 76% disbursement performance for enterprise subprojects. Among the issues which were raised that have effect on the disbursement performance of the Region are unwillingness of contractor’s to bid and failure of bidding.
According to the P/MPMIUs, contractors are unwilling to file for progress billing because of the documents required by the PRDP. In response, Luzon A Project Support Office (PSO) I-BUILD Component Head Engr. Ernesto Pitoc said that the contractors should have no problems in filing for progress billing. He added, “There is no room for re-bidding in the PRDP additional financing.”
For the succeeding years, PRDP shall comply with the “One Year Cash Budgeting” wherein all subprojects must be implemented, disbursed, and liquidated within one year. Only infrastructure subprojects which require more than one year of implementation can request for a multi-year obligational authority.
Concluding the assessment, the P/MPMIUs prepared catch-up plans to improve the Region’s disbursement performance and to target schedules of subproject preparation. By the end of PRDP, RPCO 1 targets to access subprojects for all the 12 districts in Ilocos Region. ###Dessa U. Estrada, RPCO 1 InfoACE.
