GENERAL SANTOS CITY—The Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD) Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) held its 3rd Quarter National Assessment (3QA) at the Venue 88 Hotel in General Santos City on 22-26 October 2018. Regional Field Office (RFO) XII hosted the said event as guests were welcomed by DA-Regional Field Office XII Operations Officer Mr. Roie Aguirre together with SAAD National Program Management Office (NPMO) Planning and Monitoring Group Head Mr. Ulysses J. Lustria, Jr.
Present in the event are SAAD officials and selected staff from all 2017-2022 DA-SAAD implementing regions (Regions IV-B, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, and XIII, and CAR); NPMO focal persons for Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao A and B; Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR); and Planning and Monitoring Service (PMS) represented by its Monitoring Evaluation Division (MED) and Planning and Programming Division (PPD).
Expectations were levelled on the first day during the presentation of the assessment mechanics by NPMO Planning and Budget Cluster Head Mr. Darwin A. Pamatmat. Updates on the agreements during the previous assessment is delivered by NPMO Planning Officer Ms. Karla Ivanah D. Borromeo.
Mr. Lustria, discussed the revised structure and hiring guidelines while NPMO Lead Focal for Mindanao B Mr. Justin B. dela Rueda followed-up on the record of interventions and farm record keeping. Mr. Pamatmat also discussed about the honorarium requirements. First day of the 3rd Quarter Assessment ends with the post-IT Assessment items echoed by NPMO IT Cluster Head Mr. Marvin P. Segovia.
SAAD Program Director Bernadette “SJ” F. San Juan arrived on the second day in time for the presentation of the FY 2018 overall physical and financial accomplishments as of the third quarter, that were presented per region.
During her part, Director SJ stating that our tool against our own ‘war against poverty’ are the SAAD interventions that we provide our farmer-partners.
On the same day, DA RFO XII Regional Executive Director (RED) Milagros Casis also urged field workers to continue doing good, stating the gratitude that the Juan Magsasaka and Juan Mangingisda is expressing now that SAAD is here , persevering to deliver in areas never been reached before.
‘Quotable quotes’ at the end of each presentation stirred the imagination of the present SAAD staff, with the host region itself quoting with “Farmers don’t just work til the sun goes down. They work til the job gets done,” as shown in the event tarpaulins.
Sultan Kudarat Provincial Governor Datu Pax Mangudadatu graced the event, giving the participants his official message. Governor Pax states his first-hand taste of ‘transparency governance,’ saying in jest that it is the first time during his thirty (30) years as a politician that the money is being given even without them asking for it.
BFAR-SAAD Central Office also proceeded to present its Overall Physical and Financial Accomplishments as of the third quarter. NPMO Lead Focal for Mindanao A Ms. Marie Abigail de la Cruz presented the details of Negotiated Procurement – Community Participation afterwards.
Later in the evening, a Video Making Contest is commenced, welcoming six (6) regional entries wherein RFO X’s emerged victorious. Top three (3) performers with regards to physical accomplishments, obligations, and disbursements, were also recognized with DA-SAAD CAR taking the lead, followed by Regions 5, and 8, respectively. The host region was also given a certificate of appreciation.
On the third day, Dela Rueda facilitated the consultation workshop and breakout sessions regarding the working document of the DA-SAAD Field Implementation Manual, opening it to various comments from the regions for consideration in the revised draft.
The program is formally closed by Mr. Lustria after Mr. Pamatmat has presented the 3QA agreements. ###
Writer: Ela Arciaga
Photos: Jhomai Canlas
SAAD NPMO PR & Communications Officers
