Governor Edgar Chatto lately requested confirmation and/or ratification of his authority from the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) regarding the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP). The SP Chair on Agriculture Committee, Board Member (BM) Abeleon Damalerio, immediately called for a committee meeting for clarification regarding the said request.
During the committee meeting on 29 October 2014, Damalerio informed that the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the PRDP implementation signed between the Provincial Government of Bohol and the Department of Agriculture (DA) was validly authorized by the SP during its session on March 7, 2014. Atty. John Titus Vistal, Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator and overall coordinator of the PRDP in Bohol, explained to the committee that the governor is requesting SP for the issuance of a new Resolution, as a requirement of the DA, to further enhance the implementation of PRDP. Provincial Legal Officer, Atty. Mitchell John Boiser, supported the explanation of Atty. Vistal that the term “enhance” be used, instead of “confirming and/or ratifying”.
BM Dionisio Balite commented that had he been reminded about SP having already granted authority to the governor to sign the MOA with the DA, then he would have immediately endorsed the passage of the Resolution as requested. BM Elpidio Jala added that there is no problem after all with the governor’s request.
To recall, Bohol was chosen early this year by the DA as one of the initial six provinces in the country to be its partner under the PRDP, a 6-year program (2013-2019) designed to establish an inclusive and market-oriented agri-fishery sector. Through PRDP, the DA will partner with local government units and the private sector in providing key infrastructure, facilities, technology and information to improve the incomes, food security, productivity and competitiveness in the countryside.
The funding for PRDP was obtained from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development – World Bank (IBRD – WB) Loan (No. 8421-PH) amounting to U. S. Dollar FIVE HUNDRED ONE MILLION TWO HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND ONLY (US$501,250,000) to support the Government’s effort to reduce poverty among the rural communities of eighty one (81) provinces in the country.
To date, the Province of Bohol has identified eight farm-to-market road projects under the Intensified Building-Up of Infrastructure and Logistics for Development (I-BUILD) component and two rural enterprise development projects under the Investments for Rural Enterprises and Agricultural and Fisheries Productivity (I-REAP) component of the PRDP. The eight I-BUILD proposals, amounting to PhP316.82 million, are located in the municipalities of Balilihan, Catigbian, Loboc, Sagbayan, Bilar, Calape, Inabanga and Loon while the PhP 28.721 million worth of I-REAP projects are located in Ubay and Loboc. The Provincial Development Council, in its Executive Committee meeting on 24 September 2014, favorably endorsed the said I-BUILD and I-REAP proposed projects to the Regional Program Coordination Office of the DA for support and approval.