By Angeline Valencia
Provincial Government Media Affairs
 
          Having an idea of the hit based on last year’s expo, all the 47 municipalities and the capital city of Bohol chiseled their respective poverty reduction projects to the universal taste in preparation for the showdown come Bohol Poverty Fair 2007 on October 16-17.
         The Provincial Planning and Development Office, under the leadership of its PPDO officer-in-charge, Lawyer John Titus Vistal, ensured the different local government units (LGUs) could come up with better and refined proposals this time during the four-month preparation.
         According to PPDO-Project Development Unit Head Rogelio Alegado, they conducted orientation of local chief executives, sessions on identification and development of projects, and consultation meetings with municipal planning and development coordinators and members of municipal poverty reduction teams during the four-month preparation period.
         With this, the PPDO had invited 250 funding institutions with confidence that the LGUs could come up with better proposals for the second annual poverty fair, Alegado said.
         Last year, the LGUs of Ubay, Alicia and Jagna failed to participate the first annual poverty fair because of incomplete database.
         On this, the PPDO assisted the three towns in coming up with the Local Poverty Reduction Action Plan (LPRAP) or the Poverty Data-base Management Information System (PDMIS) as basis for their endeavors.
         By this time, all the 48 LGUs had already committed participation in the event dubbed as “Bohol Poverty Fair 2007: A Marketplace of Poverty Reduction Initiatives” to be held at the Bohol Cultural Center.
         The event starts at 10 o’clock in the morning of October 16 wherein Alegado will introduce the participants.
         Governor Erico Aumentado will deliver the welcome address, then Vistal will give the activity’s rationale.
         BLDF president Dr. Nestor Pestelos will present the Poverty Database Monitoring System-Version 2.1.
         The guests will be given time to express their pledge against poverty.
         Vice-Governor Julius Caesar Herrera will give the closing remarks.
         In the afternoon of the first day, grant agencies, non-government organizations (NGOs) and other funding institutions will have an interaction with project proponents who are the LGUs to examine and review the proposals
         The second day will be the Donors’ Forum wherein provincial government officials, representatives of grant agencies, NGOs and municipal governments to discuss the potentials, strength, and weaknesses of the projects proposals and how to improve them.
         Of the 261 project proposals featured last year, 162 attracted donors and funding institutions.
         The 162 projects were worth a total of P292 million with ceiling cost of P3 million for each project proposed.
         At least 22 funding institutions attended the October 30-31 first poverty fair last year.
         Entry projects which failed to gain commitments of support from funding institutions in last year’s expo had been fine-tuned and will be offered again this time.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=5145.0