The BPFPR, a framework created by the Provincial Government of Bohol to respond to the alarming poverty situation from a few years ago, continues to guide all of its programs and projects. The above illustration shows how these programs and projects work together to achieve the ultimate goal of poverty reduction.

The BPFPR provides both strategic direction and tactical maneuvers for the crucial war against poverty in Bohol.
This is to ensure a well-coordinated and effective all-out attack against poverty, and to concentrate available expertise and resources, combined with the latent creativity and inventiveness of local communities. It provides guidelines in creating poverty-responsive policies, plans, programs and projects. The Local Government Poverty Database and Monitoring System (LGPDMS) has been developed by the Provincial Government under this framework, in cooperation with a local NGO, the Bohol Local Development Foundation (BLDF).
The BPFPR adopts a two-fold strategy: to assist as many people as possible through projects and development interventions; and to stimulate economic growth in order to make poverty reduction sustainable.

The BIWRMP is a project of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the Provincial Government of Bohol, effectively the third phase of the GTZ support to the DILG Water Supply and Sanitation Management Office, which has been expanded to assist the Provincial Government in planning water supply and wastewater disposal in accordance with the principles of integrated water resource management.

Projects Key Outputs

• The Provincial Water Supply, Sewerage and Sanitation Sector Plan (PW4SP) will be used as a guide for the monitoring, coordination and implementation of projects;
• Participatory approaches will be formulated and applied with LGUs and local communities in the use of the PW4SP as basis for projects identification and development towards integrated water resource development;
• Policies and strategies will be promoted to support the targets outlined in the National Master Plan for Water Supply, Sewerage and Sanitation for the various sectors;
• Solutions to address water-related problems will be tested and demonstrated;
• Monitoring information on integrated water resources management (IWRM) will be made available at all levels;
• Appropriate action for IWRM will be recommended and its implementation assured

LandCare is an Australian-initiated methodology advocating partnership among the community, government and business to ‘do something practical’ about protecting and repairing the environment, especially in the area of land degradation.

LandCare in gaining momentum across the world with Australia playing a key role in assisting other countries through to develop landcare programs. Landcare is now underway in the USA, Philippines, South Africa and New Zealand.

In the Philippines, the project is implemented via a partnership of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and the International Centre for Research in AgroForestry (ICRAF), and is officially known as the “ACIAR-AusAID Philippines-Australia Landcare Project”. Its pilot sites in Bohol are located at the Carood and Inabanga watersheds.

PATSARRD is a tri-partite project of the Philippine National Government (through the Department of Agrarian Reform, the implementing agency), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations ( the executing agency), and the Australian Government (through AusAID, the funding institution). The project covers Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) in five priority provinces, one which is Bohol.

Projects aim to:

• Increase the ability of agrarian reform beneficiary families (ARBs) to influence their own wellbeing by incorporating cost-effective, sustained and participatory planning processes into regular DAR and LGU operations:
• Strengthen and establish mechanisms for cooperation between departments, LGUs, universities, private firms, donors and others working to improve ARBs’ economic and social conditions;
• Develop innovate approaches to beneficiary economic development (farm and non-farm) including marketing and micro-finance services, with emphasis in private sector involvement; and
• Pay particular attention to gender and equity issues and to the institutionalization of activities and processes within DAR and other agencies.

It was launch in March 21, 2003 in Bohol, to give technical support to the government in implementing the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Major types of assistance include planning, beneficiaries’ economic development, monitoring and evaluation and support services coordination and integration, which includes the operationalization of the KALAHI Farmer’s Center (KFC). The KFC was launch on August 11, 2003, primarily to provide required services and facilities to increase income in priority areas of development, namely ARCs and KALAHI Agrarian Reform Zones.

While Bohol has met with considerable success in reducing poverty incidence, we realize that we cannot fully address poverty without achieving econimic growth for every Boholano household. We are therefore pursuing this new focus of economic growth with great vigor.

Thus this 2008 Bohol Poverty Reduction and Development Initiatives Fair, an expansion of the concept of the Bohol Poverty Fair, which has been successfully conducted for two consecutive years since it was launched in October 2006.

Because of this expanded concept, we have also expanded the “market” for the activity. We are interested in reaching a heretofore unprecedented range of invited sectors, development stakeholders, Institutions and organizations. This year, we are inviting Official Development Assistance (ODA) agencies, National Government Agencies (NGAs) and Government-Owned and/or Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), major corporations and prominent businessmen of Bohol and the Philippines (whether in keeping with their Corporate Social Responsibility plans or in exploration of possibilities for economic partnering with LGUs), Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), LGUs and organizations that are interested in partnering with Bohol or in replicating this activity in their respective localities, and other development stakeholders.

During the affair, individual municipality/city LGUs in Bohol, grouped into five different Bohol Integrated Are Development (BIAD) clusters, will be given booths at which they will present their project proposals, for your direct perusal, review, discussions on possible assistance or partnering, exploration of mutual interests, and other areas of collaboration. The possibilites are endless.

We further emphasize that, where appropriate, the city/municipal LGUs are willing to provide counterpart funding for these project proposals. Project proposals submitted early will be posted on this website. Feel free to examine the project proposals already posted. LGUs might also bring new proposals on the day of the Fair itself.

We are therefore extending our earnest invitation for you to come to the event and make direct contact with our municipal and city LGUs. We are quite serious in further our strategy of multi-stakeholder collaboration, and would be extremely honored by your presence.

We have invited the Hon. Ralph Recto, the new Director General of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), to be our Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker during the Opening Program, scheduled at 10:00 a.m. on that day.

Ultimately, the Provincial Government sees this Fair as a catalyst to spark more direct and long-term contact between our municipal/city LGUs and various development stakeholders throughout the Philippines.

To confirm your attendance, please get in touch with Mr. Crisologo Usaraga or Ms. Joyce Barafon at the PPDO at Telephone Nos. +63 (38) 411-4406, +63 (38) 411-2088 or +63 (38) 501-9970. You may also address your emails to boholpovertyfair@yahoo.com.

We are extremely eager to explore the possibilities of establishing partnership and assistance linkages between your organization and our municipal/city LGUs.

THE BOHOL POVERTY FAIR CONCEPT

Rationale

The Provincial Government of Bohol has formulated its Program Framework for Poverty Reduction, Peace and Development. Among the key areas of concern are: understanding the poverty situation of the Province; responding to the poverty situation; capability and capacity building; and mobilizing resources for poverty reduction.

To better understand the poverty situation in the province, each of the municipalities and the capital city established its own poverty database and monitoring system using the Poverty Database Monitoring System (PDMS) or the LPRAP software to determine who the poor are, how many are they, where they are, and why they are poor. The poverty database has provided the necessary information that guide provincial and municipal policy makers and planners in determining appropriate responses to the poverty situation through programs and projects.

Cognizant of the meager financial resources of the Local Government Units of the Province, the Provincial Government of Bohol has initiated the Poverty Fair, where Municipal/City Local Government Units could display and discuss with representatives of funding donor institutions their respective projects proposed for funding assistance.
Activity Objective

At the end of the fair, the Provincial Government and the M/CLGUs will be able to:

1. sensitize donors to the poverty situation/levels of deprivation in the province; and
2. gain commitment and support from probable donors for poverty projects identified by LGUs.

Key Activities

1. Organization of the Provincial Technical Team. A Provincial Technical Team (PTT) will be organized from among the Technical Staff of the PPDO. The PTT will be divided into sub-teams to assist and review project proposal generated by the LGUs under their respective assigned cluster of municipalities.
2. Identification of Committees. This activity deals with determining the different steering and working committees that will be formed to take charge of the necessary preparations under the responsibility of each concerned committee.
3. Project Identification and Development. Members of the Municipal Poverty Reduction Action Teams (MPRATs) will identify and develop project proposals using the LPRAP data of the municipality. Technical personnel of NGOs operating in the municipality or cluster of municipalities will assist the MPRATs in the preparation of projects
4. Organizational Meeting of Steering and Working Committees. This activity includes the identification of different national agencies, provincial line offices and Non-Government Organizations that will be involved in different committees. The Committees’ roles and responsibilities will be determined by its members during the organizational meeting that will be conducted simultaneously.
5. Committee Planning and Budgeting. Each committee prepares its plan of activities (Pre-Implementation, Implementation and Post-Implementation) and corresponding budgetary requirements. These plans will be approved by the Governor or his duly authorized representative prior to their implementation.
6. Plan Implementation. Each committee implements its respective plan under close supervision by the committee’s Chairperson and by the Steering Committee.
7. Assessment of Plan Implementation. Periodically, the status of committee plan implementation will be assessed to determine implementation gaps and institute remedial measures.
8. Poverty Fair Proper. A program will be prepared highlighting the poverty situation of Bohol using the LPRAP database. After a short program, Donors could start booth-hopping for “project-shopping”. Each LGU has a booth where they could display their poverty maps and their “menu” of LPRAP-based proposed projects and discuss them with representatives of donor institutions. Prospective projects and project donors will be identified during this activity.
9. Post-Poverty Fair Assessment. This activity will be participated by different offices/agencies/NGOs that assisted in project preparation. Results of the Poverty Fair will be discussed and thresh-out succeeding activities required until project will have been submitted to donor institutions concerned.

Organization and Management

The Poverty Fair will be managed by the Provincial Poverty Reduction Action Team (PPRAT). The PPRAT will be assisted by the Project Development Unit of PPDO that will act as the Secretariat. The Head of the Secretariat will assist the PPRAT in the supervision of the day-to-day activities of the Pre-Implementation Phase, Implementation Phase and Post-Implementation Phase of the Poverty Fair.

Work-Committees will be determined and organized from among select personnel of National Government Agencies, Provincial Government Offices and Non-Government Organizations. The members of the committees will determine their respective roles and responsibilities inherent to the committee where they belong and ensure smooth implementation of plan that each committee will formulate. The Working Committees will be:

1. Committee on Program and Invitation
2. Committee on Food and Accommodation
3. Committee on Peace and Security
4. Committee on Booth Installation
5. Committee on Project Preparation
6. Committee on Transportation and Tours
7. Committee on Finance
8. Committee on Supplies and Logistics
9. Committee on Documentation and Information Dissemination

Financing

1. The Provincial Government will shoulder the expenses for snacks during the opening program, lunch for guests during the fair, and venue and booth rentals.
2. The LGUs will take care of their respective booth displays, and food and accommodation of members of their delegation.