LPRAT Planning Workshop Held at SVV

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)