Koronadal City, South Cotabato – A five-day Project Evaluation and Development (PED) Training for NEDA Regional Office (NRO) XII staff was successfully conducted on January 18-22, 2016 at Viajera Dine and Café, Koronadal City. The training is one of the capability programs of NRO XII to equip and/or update its staff knowledge on project evaluation and development, one of the office’s mandate.

In his opening statement, Regional Director Arturo G. Valero stressed that “…theactivity was conceived in line with the need for building and enhancing the knowledge and skills of the staff considering our role in steering economic growth through the identification of project-ideas and evaluation of project proposals of government entities, private sector and other stakeholders in the region.”

The training was coordinated by the Project Development, Investment and Budget Division (PDIPBD), and was participated in by 32 staff, 11 of them also served as resource persons. The activity focused on developing the capability of NRO XII staff who have not undertaken a similar training, as well as reorienting those who have undergone similar training on the new project evaluation and development concepts. It was also geared towards improving the capability of the NRO XII staff in assisting the office clients to generate project proposals to help address development gaps and tap development potentials of the SOCCSKSARGEN region.

Topics discussed were primarily on the elements and basic concepts on the important aspects of a feasibility study namely: Market, Technical, Financial, Economic, Social, Environmental, Risk/Sensitivity, Institutional and Logical Framework Analyses. Key speakers from the NRO XII divisions consisted of Ms. Ma. Lulu E. Valencia and Mr. Guillermo R. Manrique, Jr. of PMED, Ms. Rosa D. Lemana and Ms. Helen L. Vestal of DRD, Ms. Maria Felicidad R. Guerrero and Mr. Rommel Patrick E. Tanghal of PFPD, Ms. Juliet G. Bolando and Ms. Desiree T. Jacinto of PDIPBD, and Ms. Lalaine M. Sajelan of FAD. The training was undertaken using lecture and workshop methods logic.

The training participants were divided into groups of three (3) and required to prepare assigned sections on Project Evaluation Report (PER) on the feasibility study of the proposed Sarangani Medical Center in Alabel. The workshop outputs were presented during the last day of the training with RD Valero, ARD Quiratman, and the resource persons as the reactors. (Judd Nichol Leonar, NEDA XII-DRD)