By Vincent G. Dela Rosa, LGOO III/PIO
December 01, 2014
TUGUEGARAO CITY – Hounded by bad experiences in the implementation in the past of the national government’s Grassroots Participatory Process (GPP), formerly known as the Bottom-Up Budgeting (BUB) Program and later on as Grassroots Participatory Budgeting Process (GPBP), the DILG Isabela Provincial Office organized a three-batch activity to better prepare the civil society organizations and local government unit-beneficiaries in the province to ensure the hassle-free implementation of the program in fiscal year 2016.
DILG Isabela provincial director Elpidio A. Durwin said the day-long activity called “Provincial Harmonization of Actions for Systematic Execution of 2016 Grassroots Participatory Process (PHASE – 2016 GPP)-LPRAT Orientation” was conducted purposely to keep abreast the participants on the latest program guidelines and policies and to encourage them to fast-track the implementation of their GPP-funded projects this year to avoid unnecessary delay in the release of funds in fiscal years 2015 and 2016.
Above all, he said, the activity aimed to equip the participants with the knowledge and guide them in the preparation of sound local poverty reduction action plans (LPRAPs) that are all geared towards the development of communities.
PD Durwin lamented that in the past, several municipal-beneficiaries of the program in Isabela province proposed projects which were not included in the menu of projects of the implementing agencies and as a consequence, those project proposals were not approved and funded for implementation.
On the one hand, he said there were also some LGUs that lagged behind in the implementation of their approved proposed projects in spite of the immediate release of funds emanating from the implementing national government agencies, including the DILG.
The activity was held on November 21 at the Zen Hotel, Santiago City; November 25 at the Isabela Hotel, Cauayan City, and November 26 at the Pulsar Hotel, Tuguegarao City for the Southern Isabela Cluster, Central Isabela Cluster and Northern Isabela Cluster of LGUs, respectively.
In attendance were the local chief executives, local functionaries and civil society organization representatives who were recently elected as members of the local poverty reduction action teams (LPRATs) during the holding of the General CSO Assemblies province-wide.
Representatives of the GPP member-agencies took their turns in presenting the menu of programs and technical requirements of their respective agencies.
A new program of the Aquino Administration, the GPP promotes inclusive growth and addresses poverty at the local levels. It involves the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Fishery and Aquatic Resources, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau, Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Tourism, Department of Trade and Industry, National Irrigation Authority, National Anti-Poverty Commission, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and DILG.
DILG OIC-Regional Director Marlo L. Iringan said, for championing the active involvement of the civil society organizations and private sections in the planning and budgeting process at the grassroots thru the program, the country has been bestowed with the Gold Award for ‘open governance’ by the United Nation. Other awardees were Denmark and Montenegro.
