LPRAT Planning Workshop Held
The Local Poverty Reduction Action Team (LPRAT) held a one-day
planning workshop facilitated by National Economic Development Authority (NEDA)
regional officials last Friday, December 9, 2016, at Saint Vincent Village.
LPRAT is a special body created by government to “directly address
the needs of poor constituencies and marginalized sectors” of society. It is chaired
by the local chief executive and having as members civil society organizations,
government representatives, and other stakeholders.
Several department heads of the LGU and the leaders of various
sectors involved in the work of poverty reduction attended the planning workshop.
Municipal Administrator Atty. Rodelynn Rajini A. Sagarino
presented the objectives of the workshop, underscoring the importance of the
LPRAT in addressing the poverty problem in Bayambang, particularly
malnutrition.
Municipal Planning Development Office (MPDO) OIC Ma-lene S. Torio
explained that the day's facilitators would help the LPRAT forge a Local
Poverty Reduction Action Plan, in line with LPRAT’s mandate to create it
through a participative process.
The first session was devoted to a “situational analysis” of the
poverty incidence in Bayambang, with LPRA Officer Luz B. Cayabyab of MPDO
presenting and discussing detailed figures that shed light on the current
poverty situation in the different barangays.
Melanie C. Untalasco, Supervising Economic Development Specialist
of the Project Monitoring and Evaluation Division of NEDA's Regional Office I (NRO
I), explained that diagnosing poverty and the process of addressing it are
"multidimensional." "LPRAT uses a resource-based and needs-based
approach to determine who and where the poor are."
Irenea B. Ubungen, Chief of Plan and Policy Formulation Division
of NRO I, next gave a walk-through of the definition of terms used in analyzing
poverty, such as “poverty incidence” and “poverty threshold.”
This talk was followed by a Social Welfare and Development
Indicator (SWDI) Analysis by Geralyn Rivera of the Department of Social Welfare
and Development's Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). Rivera said the
SWDI Analysis is used to determine which people are qualified as 4Ps
beneficiaries.
Caroline M. Castro, Chief of the Project Development,
Investment Programming and Budgeting Division of NRO I, oriented the
participants on how to fill out the template for the Priority Programs and
Projects for 2017-2019. This tool will be used by LPRAT members in crafting the
LPR Action Plan for the next two years.
The planning workshop proved to be most informative and insightful.
The lively exchange of ideas opened the eyes of participants in further comprehending
a complex, long-standing social problem. (Bayambang PIO/Media Affairs Office)
