The Ateneo De Naga University (AdNU) – Master in Public Administration (MPA) students* simultaneously conducted the Barangay Participatory Planning and Budgeting Workshop (BPPBW) in four selected barangays of Minalabac, Camarines Sur last 6-7 October 2018. It was conducted with the assistance of the Center for Local Governance.
The workshop aims to generate a practical vision for the barangay; formulate a community development plan and budget that is responsive to the basic needs of the community using simple and highly participatory process and to come up with an annual investment plan that will serve as the basis for the barangay budget allocation and funding.
The beneficiary barangays of the said workshop includes San Felipe-Santiago, Del Carmen-Del Rosario, San Francisco and Hobo, all in the municipality of Minalabac, Camarines Sur.
The workshop was participated by the Sangguniang Barangay and the Barangay Development Council which was well represented by different sectors in the barangay including the senior citizens, youth, women, farmer’s association, religious sector, etc.
Prior to the conduct of the workshop, the AdNU MPA students attended a demonstration of the same activity on 22-23 September 2018 in Barangay Antipolo, Minalabac, Camarines Sur, as a way to ensure that the students can get the process when they have to do the return-demonstration.
Further, the students were requested to attend the Training on Technology on Participation (ToP) on 9-10 August 2018. The training introduced the students to the practical tools for enabling highly energized, productive and meaningful participation in processes required for truly proactive and responsive local governance. Specifically, they were taught how to run a well-structures discussion, how to conduct a workshop and how to undertake highly participatory action planning. The training given was part of the preparation given to students before the conduct of the Service Learning activity.
The BPPBW and the ToP were developed by the Governance and Local Democracy (GOLD) Project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
* specifically those enrolled in PA 204 with the course description of Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Systems Analysis this 1st Semester, School Year 2018-2019
-by Jesus M. Favorito, Jr.
