LOOK || Northern Samar strategizes with SHIELD Programme consortium partners to plan and employ approaches in building resiliency
Recognizing the significance of concerted efforts in developing solutions and innovative strategies to resilient-building, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Strengthening Institutions and Empowering Localities Against Disasters and Climate Change (SHIELD) consortium partners, Provincial Government of Northern Samar – Technical Working Group, national line agencies, cvil society organizations (CSOs), and academe met for the first day of the Joint Work Programming to collectively plan effective approaches for the future trajectory of the SHIELD Programme for the province, today, September 14, 2023 at the Provincial Planning and Development Office Conference Area, Provincial Capitol, Catarman.
EnP Jay Keenson Acebuche, the Officer-in-Charge of the Provincial Planning and Development Office, underscored the significance of capacitating the Provincial Local Government Unit (PLGU) functionaries to fulfilling a resilient Northern Samar.
“If we equip the province with the necessary knowledge and skills in achieving a marig-on nga Norte san Samar, we can also positively influence the municipalities and barangays to be on the same direction,” said EnP Acebuche.
SHIELD Programme Manager Ma. Victoria de Guzman affirmed that in order to be progressive, efficient plans on building and sustaining resiliency must be formulated. She then gave a strong statement, “Hindi tayo uunlad, kung hindi tayo resilient.”
Embedded on the objective of reinforcing resiliency in Northern Samar by employing governance approaches and putting mechanisms in place, Mr. Cleto Gales Jr., Project Coordinator of the Philippine Society for Public Administration SHIELD presented and discussed the results of the structured interviews they conducted with PLGU functionaries and CSOs using the Local Assessment and Monitoring for the Promotion and Advancement of Resilient Actions (LAMPARA) Tool on June 7, 2023.
He discussed that the common recommendations for the province on the inputs provided by the participants present in the said activity include 1.) Enhance environmental indicators; scale-up and be more proactive in monitoring these environmental indicators (as environmental resilience is critical to overall resilience is critical to overall resilience) and 2.) Create, adopt, and implement a consolidated MEAL Framework, integrating various parameters for all sectors.
Apart from the said tool, another way of ensuring that every effort toward resiliency is optimized is through the Gender Equality, Disability, and Social Inclusion (GEDSI). Ms. Maria Janica Briyola, GEDSI Analyst of the SHIELD Programme, shared that the pressing challenge is the fragmented implementation of GEDSI initiatives. In order to address the said bottleneck, she suggested to employ combination of target interventions, wherein the vulnerable group is the beneficiary and GEDSI mainstreaming across all components and activities through the SHIELD Programme.
Further, Mr. Reinero Flores, the Project Manager of the UN-Habitat Philippines; Ms. Juliet Labayan, Program Manager of the Philippine Business for Social Progress; Mr. Christopher Estallo, Program Manager of the National Resilience Council; and Mr. Paul Kevin Villarico, UNDP Project Manager, the consortium partners who are responsible for managing respective project outputs and activities, presented their milestones, results, and future activities to accord with the agreed documents and goals of the program.
The first day of the workshop concluded with dividing the participants into four groups, namely: Enterprise Management; Multi-stakeholders Partnership; Risk and Budget and Resilience-informed Planning and Investment Programming; and Capacity Development and Bankable Proposal with Mr. Deo Banida of the Provincial Economic Development and Investment Promotions Office, Mr. Gibson Tobias of the Department of the Interior and Local Government – Region 8, Ms. Soledad Uy of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, and Ms. Maybelle Camps of the Nortehanon Access Center as presenters. The said activity aimed to collaboratively discuss their remaining activities in 2023, and encountered roadblocks and capacity development gaps, which are crucial to equipping and empowering Nortehanons and resolve issues that hamper them from achieving resiliency through strategic approaches.
Gov. Edwin Ongchuan is steadfast in prioritizing the programs, projects, and activities that will significantly contribute to achieving a Marig-on, Mainuswagon, ngan Malipayon nga Norte san Samar through his development thrust known as Padayon nga KAUSWAGAN or Sustained PROGRESS.
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