November 23, 2015

The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Unit is considered as the Philippine Rural Development Project’s closed-circuit television (CCTV). By systematically collecting and analyzing information and data and providing feedback to the local government units (LGUs) and the Department of Agriculture, implementors and beneficiaries get a picture of the status of project implementation and the factors affecting it.

But like a broken monitor with low resolution density, the M&E team in Bicol is faced with some grey areas as it has difficulty in accessing accurate and timely information.

According to PRDP-Bicol M&E Unit Head Maribel O. Bitao, the region’s data capture forms (DCFs) at present are incomplete because the Provincial Project Management and Implementation Units (PPMIUs) and components were not yet fully aware of their roles and functions in the M&E system.

This scenario is expected to change after the four-day cluster wide training for M&E teams of the PPMIUs, Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCOs), and Project Support Office (PSO) held at Hotel Venezia, Legazpi City on November 10-13, 2015. Therein, the participants were oriented about the pre-requisites for an effective M&E system, the result-based monitoring and evaluation system characteristics, differences, and implementation, as well as the progress M&E sub-system. They were also trained on using the project’s database for PRDP’s four major components and inputting data on the subproject (SP) profile form and DCF.

“M&E should be the game-changer of PRDP and the leaderboard of how the units and components should work,” PSO South Luzon M & E Officer Lorenzo Villacorte Jr. said.

Villacorte commended the RPCO V for having a focused, dynamic, and strong M&E team. He also urged the Management to beef up the region’s M&E team by hiring additional staff who will provide assistance to the PPMIUs.

Moreover, PSO South Luzon Director Shandy M. Hubilla emphasized the importance of the M&E in the project implementation.

“We are a community of rural development workers and practitioners to share best practices and feed problems to the management for decision-making. We don’t stop at the output. We measure results—we measure outcome,” he said.

After the training, Bitao expects a functional and more focused RPCO V M&E team.

“With this training, the project development associates (PDAs) have learned that they have a big part in the M&E system. Hopefully, this will help facilitate the submission of complete reports,” she said. She added that the training also capacitated and empowered the PPMIUs to enhance the project implementation.

The M&E unit will be conducting a series of web-based M&E deployment (roll-out) with the Investments in AFMP Planning at the Local and National Levels (I-PLAN) on November 23-27, 2015 in Davao City and the Intensified Building up of Infrastructure and Logistics for Development (I-BUILD) on December 1-4, 2015 in Cagayan de Oro City.

The M&E Unit is part of the Implementation Support to PRDP (I-SUPPORT) component designed to provide the Management with updated and relevant information about the project implementation’s status and progress to enable them to make effective decisions.

PRDP is a six-year World Bank-assisted project being implemented by the Department of Agriculture that aims to establish an inclusive, market-oriented, and climate-resilient agri-fishery sector nationwide. (Annielyn L. Baleza, I-SUPPORT InfoACE Unit, DA-RAFIS 5)

DA-Bicol M&E Unit Head Maribel O. Bitao lectures on Capability Building Towards Enhancing the M&E Team at RPCOs and Proponent LGUs during the Training for M&E Teams of the PPMIUs, Regional Project Coordination Office (RPCOs), and Project Support Office (PSO) held at Hotel Venezia, Legazpi City on November 10-13, 2015.

PSO South Luzon M & E Officer Lorenzo Villacorte Jr. orients the M&E teams of the PPMIU, RPCOs and PSO about the M&E process.