More
than P283 million worth of projects for local government units (LGUs) in the province
were pledged by donor agencies during the Bohol Poverty Fair held last October
30 to 31 at the Bohol Cultural Center.
Donor
agencies selected and ma-de commitments to fund and provide technical assistance
to 154 projects from a total of 230 proposals of participating municipalities
with an overall cost of P427,883,383 in said poverty fair, a major undertaking
of the provincial government through the Bohol Poverty Reduction Management Office
(BPRMO).
Twenty-one
international grant donor institutions, national government agencies and non-government
organizations took part in the poverty fair.
21
BARANGAYS USE LPRAP
Mooreover,
during the poverty fair, a total of 42 barangays in 21 municipalities have been
assisted by a British-funded project in preparing Local Poverty Reduction Action
Plans (LPRAP), with projects submitted to donors.
| | | The
project, Strengthening Local Governance for Sustainable Economic Growth and Effective
Service Delivery, trained and supervised field interviewers and conducted barangay
planning workshops during August and September. The activity culminated in the
conduct of a Development Forum held two days before the Poverty Fair.
The
municipalities and barangays were among those ranked as most deprived based on
core poverty indicators used by the LPRAP survey and software.
"The
42 LPRAPs are in addition to 13 proposals prepared with assistance from the project
and submitted to donors during the Poverty Fair," according to Alit Lugo,
BLDF (Bohol Local Development Foundation, Inc.) project development specialist. |
She
said BLDF, along with project partners Provincial Planning and Development Office
and HNU Research Center, will now focus on marketing the various projects contained
in the LPRAPs to various donor agencies and international NGOs.
Dr.
Nestor Pestelos, BLDF president, said it has initiated talks with the ProLiteracy
Movement, OTi Consulting, People Helping People Foundation, and other agencies
for the provision of small grants to provide identified disadvantaged households
with much-needed services.
He
observed that usually it takes three to five years for big donors to process project
proposals. "Given that time frame, donor assistance will come late with often
tragic consequences for malnourished children, school dropouts, families not eating
three meals a day, and those living below the food threshold," Dr. Pestelos
added.
USES
OF POVERTY DATABASE STRESSED
Pestelos,
stressed the importance of the household poverty database during the opening of
the Poverty Fair.
"With
the LPRAP Software, the LGUs have an effective tool to produce one-page poverty
profiles at provincial, district, municipal/city, barangay, purok and household
levels," Dr. Pestelos said. "Based on twelve core indicators of poverty,
these profiles can quickly indicate the priority problems at each level and review
existing projects being implemented and see right away if they match."
He
noted that the thirty-two barangay captains who attended the Development Forum
prior to the Poverty Fair showed keen interest in using the database for preparing
target-specific local plans.
"It
is important that people see projects as related to local problems and not just
a means to get funds," Dr. Pestelos said. "Our hope is that a target-specific
planning process can motivate LGUs to use budgetary allocations as an effective
tool to support poverty reduction initiatives."
He
said that LGUs should use the LPRAP database to provide basic services and extend
livelihood assistance to those most in need.
Dr.
Pestelos is project director of the Strengthening Local Governance Project (SLGP)
funded by the British Embassy through its Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Global
Opportunities Fund Economic Governance Programme.
Implemented
starting April this year, the project seeks to promote pro-poor economic growth
and effective delivery of basic services by enhancing local capacities of LGUs
to prepare local plans jointly with target communities and households. | 
