Gov. Plaza Resource Person for 9th PEP Research Network Conference in Cambodia
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Agusan del Sur Governor Adolph Edward “Eddiebong” Plaza fly in Cambodia after being invited to participate as a Resource Person and present on the topic Achieving the Millenium Development Goals in the forthcoming 9th Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) Research Network Conference to be held at Angkor Era Hotel in Siem Reap on December 5-9, 2011.
The letter of invitation from Dr. Celia M. Reyes, PEP- Co Director, and CBMS Network Leader also request Governor Plaza to present on policies and programs he implemented in the province of Agusan del Sur in pursuit of the MDGs and to share how Community Based Monitoring System (CBMS) helped the father of the province in crafting the MDGs plan of action in the locality.
Together with Governor Plaza in his jaunt are Provincial Board Member Allan Santiago, CBMS Team Leader and Nephtalie Morgado, Information Technology Expert and CBMS Team member. Santiago is invited to share his empirical experience and insights on the applications on the CBMS for legislation on the local level while Morgado bid to share on the IT innovations adopted by Agusan del Sur in its implementation of CBMS in the province.
However, Morgado who is also the chief-of-office of the Provincial Information Management Office (PIMO) in the provincial government in an interview with Provincial Public Information Office (PPIO), says he is very proud as being one of the invited participants together with Guv Plaza and Hon. Santiago.
“In the entire Philippines, we are the only provincial government invited in this conference and this is because of the support and innovations of Governor Plaza. Before, we are only beneficiary of CBMS and now we can make it, we can stand without them. This is because we develop our own system,” Morgado said.
Morgado cited that The Community- Based Monitoring System (CBMS) was first implemented in Agusan del Sur in 2005 with the technical assistance from the CBMS Network Coordinating Team, now the PEP-CBMS Network Office, of the Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies of De La Salle University, Manila.
The Provincial Government is ever grateful to the team headed by Dr. Reyes for the technical assistance they provided that spell the success of the first and second rounds of CBMS implementation. Since then, local planners and policy-makers use the CBMS data in identifying priority programs, projects and services, as well as its rightful beneficiaries.
Certainly, the system has been an effective tool in prioritizing the right government interventions to reduce poverty and fast track the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. A testament to this is the gradual decline of poverty incidence in the province from 63.86% to 54.80% and so with the other indicators.
“Palawan province was first implemented CBMS but the province of Agusan del Sur is the first province invented CBMS province wide,” said Morgado.
Morgado added, “CBMS is for poverty reduction program. All households will be identified and so if the government has a program to help the people of the province it would be easy to recognize if who they are so we can easily help them.”
Morgado said that the province already helps established CBMS in the provinces of Saranggani and Compostela Valley and for now there are ongoing negotiation for Dinagat province and Surigao del Sur.
The PEP conference this year shall feature recent developments and finding on global initiatives on achieving the MDGs, monitoring the impacts on global financial crisis, vulnerability mapping and risks assessment, and poverty monitoring.
About 200 participants is expected to participate in the conference. Delegates are composed of policymakers, local chief executives, poverty experts, researchers and other development stakeholders from countries from all regions of the world.
The activity is being organized by the Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) Asia –Community Based Monitoring System (CBMS) Network Office of DSLU-Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies in partnership with the National Institute of Statistics-Ministry of Planning Cambodia. ---Melody E. de Vera/PPIO-AgSur)
