The Cagayan Valley Regional Project Monitoring Committee-Project Monitoring Team (RPMC-PMT) conducted field monitoring visit to three projects funded under the Official Development Assistance on October 22-24, 2019, namely: Pasa Small Reservoir Irrigation Project in Isabela, Forestland Management Project (FMP) in Nueva Vizcaya, and Flood Risk Management Project (FRIMP) in Cagayan.

For the FMP, the Team, together with the Nueva Vizcaya Provincial Project Monitoring Committee (PPMC) visited one of the 35 organized People’s Organizations (POs). A tire-path road, part of the Agro-forestry Support Facilities component of the project, significantly reduced the time to transport farm produce to the province’s trading center from five days to just one day. The ₱100,000 seed capital given to each PO for enterprise development is now gaining profit, with each PO venturing in varied business such as soft broom-making, selling of farm inputs, among others.

The newly-completed ₱17M-worth Bagabag District Hospital, funded under the Development Fund of the Provincial Government of Nueva Vizcaya, was also inspected by the Team. Project components such as construction of dietary building, laundry building, power house, cadaver holding area, pathological vault, materials recovery facility, and service road have been pipelined under the supplemental budget of the province for the year. With the completion of the 10-bed capacity hospital, access to medical and health services will be easier for the community residents. This will also complement the other health facilities of the province with the expected increase in demand for health services as a result of the Universal Health Care law implementation.

The RPMC-PMT was composed of representatives from the Philippine Information Agency, Presidential Management Staff, and private sector representative for agriculture and fisheries while the Nueva Vizcaya PPMC included representatives from the provincial office of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Provincial Engineering, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office and Provincial Planning and Development Office. #Jessielyn R. Baltazar, NEDA-PMED