BOHOL’S DReAMS PROJECT PROVINCIAL IMPLEMENTING TEAM

Last April 6, 2010, Bohol formally established the Provincial Implementing Team (PIT) to assist the DReAMS Project Office in the implementation of its target deliverables.

The members of the PIT are the following:

1. Atty. John Titus Vistal, Bohol senior expert
2. Engr. Ronilita Bunado, Bohol junior expert
3. Engr. Noel Mendaña, Municipal expert
4. Nestor Pestelos, PhD, project manager
5. Metodio Maraguinot Jr., assistant project manager
6. Tony Irving, Bohol IT expert
7. Coleen Montalba, project finance officer
8. Nathanael Hinay, PDMS specialist
9. Engr. Wilfredo Bueno, Bohol IT senior specialist
10. Judy Bedio, Bohol IT junior IT specialist
11. Engr. Alex Chatto, Bohol administrative support associate
12. Nefel Flor Geniston, Bohol support services associate
13. Jose Reysancel Caresosa, IT support associate

Apart from the PIT, two support teams were also organized, namely, the ecoBUDGET Resource Team and the PDMS Resource Team. The members of the ecoBUDGET Resource Team are; Engr. Ronilita Bunado (team leader), Engr. Noel Mendaña, and LRT of Tubigon. On the other hand, the PDMS Resource Team is composed of Tony Irving (team leader), Nathanael Hinay, and Judy Bedio.

Furthermore, Bohol also developed partnerships with several organizations such as the Institute for Governance and Development (GoDev) and Bohol Local Development Foundation (BLDF). These two partner institutions will assist in carrying-out the implementation and linking of the Poverty Database Monitoring System (PDMS) with the DReAMS Project in close collaboration with the PDMS Resource Team.

PROJECT CONDUCTS ORIENTATION AND CONSULTATION WITH PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICERS

Date: June 4, 2010

As agreed during the May 19, 2010 project briefing, an orientation and consultation activity for the DReAMS Project was held last June 4, 2010 at the Provincial Planning and Development Office. Present in the meeting were the Municipal Planning and Development Coordinators (MPDCs) of Maribojoc, Tubigon, Jagna, Pilar, and Talibon, and the members of the Provincial Implementing Team (PIT).

The following was the flow of the activity:

1. Welcoming Address by Atty. John Titus Vistal (Bohol senior expert)

2. Preliminaries by Metodio Maraguinot Jr. (assistant project manager)

3. About DReAMS Project by Engr. Ronilita Bunado (junior expert)

4. About ecoBUDGET by Engr. Noel Mendaña (Tubigon municipal expert)

5. About PDMS and its latest features by Dr. Nestor Pestelos (project manager)

6. Consultation and Planning Proper facilitated by Metodio Maraguinot

During the consultation, the MPDCs declared their interest for the inclusion of their respective municipalities in the piloting of the DReAMS Project. It was decided as well by the among the MPDCs and the PIT that formal engagements on the project with the chief executives of the five municipalities will start only in July to give time for the transition activities (Candidates who won in the May 10 elections will be assuming office on June 30. MPDCs play a crucial role in the preparation of transition reports and in the transition activities).

BOHOL’S IMPLEMENTING TEAM CONDUCTS MONTHLY MEETING, FOCUSES ON TUBIGON’S ecoBUDGET + PDMS INTEGRATION

Date: June 2, 2010

Held June 2, 2010, the Members of the Bohol Provincial Implementing Team (PIT) for the DReAMS Project met for their monthly meeting at the Provincial Planning and Development Office. On top of the agenda was Tubigon’s specific target of integrating ecoBUDGET + PDMS in order to come up with the DReAMS database software prototype within the month of June. Engr. Noel Mendaña, Tubigon’s Municipal Expert for DReAMS Project, led the technical briefing.

Apart from the members of the PIT, also present in the meeting were representatives from the Institute of Governance and Development (GoDev), Bohol’s local partner institution for the DReAMS Project. Dr. Nestor Pestelos, DReAMS Project manager, presided over the meeting. The PIT will meet again before the end of June for the presentation and demonstration of the DReAMS database software prototype of Tubigon.

PDMS RESOURCE TEAM HOLDS BRAINSTORMING WITH PARTNERS, DISCUSSES UPDATES AND KEY ACTION POINTS

Date: June 1, 2010

With the purpose of consolidating all efforts for the implementation of the Bohol Poverty Database Monitoring System (PDMS) Plan under the DReAMS Project, the members of the PDMS Resource Team converged last June 1, 2010 at Garden Café in Tagbilaran City, Bohol to hold a brainstorming activity as well as to discuss updates and other key action points.

Present in the meeting were Dr. Nestor Pestelos (project manager), Metodio Maraguinot Jr. (assistant project manager), Tony Irving (Bohol IT expert and PDMS resource team leader), Nathanael Hinay (PDMS specialist), and Judy Bedio (junior IT specialist). DReAMS Project local partner institutions, namely, the Institute for Governance and Development (GoDev) and Bohol Local Development Foundation (BLDF), also sent in representatives to help in the planning namely Joyce Barafon and Jean Celeste Paredes both from GoDev and Bona Dea Padron of BLDF.

Discussion highlights:
• Assignment of Area Coordinators to look into the status of the PDMS in the municipalities that will be piloted, except for Tubigon
• No need to develop separate software for the pilot municipalities in Bohol. What can be done is develop the DReAMS database as an added feature in the PDMS
• GoDev and BLDF to extend technical assistance in the mobilization of the staff work for the development of the DReAMS database in the pilot municipalities
• Tubigon to be the Team’s priority for the month of June

PROJECT CONDUCTS BRIEFING AND CONSULTATION FOR THE LOCAL PILOTING OF DReAMS

Held May 19, 2010, Engr. Ronilita Bunado, Team Leader of the ecoBUDGET Resource Team, conducted a preliminary briefing and consultation with the planning officers of the five municipalities initially selected by DReAMS Project as pilot area. There, Engr. Bunado explained the scope of the Project, its aims, objectives, and expected results. After some discussion, the planning officers agreed to meet again on June 4 for an extensive orientation about the DReAMS Project.

With the goal of linking and integrating both ecoBUDGET and the PDMS tools, select municipalities in Bohol will be first piloted with Tubigon as lead municipality. The following shall be the criteria that will be used for the selection of the pilot municipalities:

1.    One for each BIAD
2.    Cooperative Chief Executive
3.    Cooperative and reliable Municipal Planning and Development Coordinators
4.    Emerging urban center in the BIAD
5.    Readiness to develop the integrated ecoBUDGET + PDMS tools or the DReAMS database software
6.    Willingness to integrate the DReAMS database in their respective Annual Investment Plans

As initially agreed, the Candidate-Municipalities for the piloting are:

BIAD 1 – Maribojoc
BIAD 2 – Tubigon
BIAD 3 – Talibon
BIAD 4 – Jagna
BIAD 5 – Pilar

PDMS RESOURCE TEAM ON THE GO, HOLDS ACTION PLANNING

Held May 12, 2010, the members of the Poverty Database Monitoring System (PDMS) Resource Team for the DReAMS Project met for the first time at the Bohol Provincial Planning and Development Coordinator’s Office to discuss strategies for the development of the DReAMS Software in Tubigon. A review of the Bohol work plan was also conducted by the members to cull-out specific targets and deliverables. Leading the meeting were Dr. Nestor Pestelos, Project Manager, and Tony Irving, Bohol IT Expert and PDMS Resource Team Leader.

As agreed, the municipality of Tubigon will be the first local government to be piloted for the integration of the ecoBUDGET and the PDMS tools. Tubigon in 2005 adopted ecoBUDGET after it was chosen to be Bohol’s pilot municipality under the ecoBUDGET Project.

Realising DReAMS Kick-off Meeting Recently Concluded

The Realising DReAMS (Development of Resources and Access to Municipal Services) Project for South and Southeast Asian Local Authorities had its kick-off meeting prior to an official launch on February 24-27, 2010 at the Bohol Beach Club in Panglao Island, Bohol, Philippines.

The gathering was attended by the representatives from the European Union, the funding partner, along with the project partners from Guntur Municipal Corporation in India, Province of Stung Treng in Cambodia, Thimphu City Corporation in Bhutan, City of Rajshahi in Bangladesh, City of Växjö in Sweden; the officers of the ICLEI secretariats in Europe, South Asia and South East Asia; and the officers and team members from the Province of Bohol, the project’s main beneficiary. The City of Bologna in Italy was not attending the meeting.

From Feb 24, 2010

With barely five years left until the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals or MDGs, the Realising DReAMS Project is well-timed in assisting local authorities in the above-mentioned cities to improve services and urban governance and thereby take feasible steps towards achieving the MDGs at their localities. The project makes use of two tested and innovative tools, the ecoBUDGET and the Poverty Data-based Monitoring System or PDMS.