The two-day activity which was facilitated by National Economic Development Authority (NEDA)-Region 1 aims to orient local civil servants on the mechanics of the RPMES, the Project Benefit Monitoring and Evaluation System (PBMES) and the Results Monitoring and Evaluation System (RMES).

RPMES was first established in 1989 through EO 376 in 1989 to facilitate project implementation, monitoring and evaluation at the regional and sub-regional levels.

The system provides a scheme for monitoring and evaluating projects in all level of the government with the active participation of various government agencies, local government units and non-government organizations.

Through the RPMES data gathering on the overall status of project implementation and the detection of problems that would hamper implementation will be simplified, thus, remedial actions can be readily facilitated implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the projects.

NEDA Region I Director Leonardo Quitos headed a group of resource speakers and facilitators, the same team that helped the city realized it’s first-ever People First Summit held few month ago Olongapo City.

To be fully understand the evaluation system, series of workshops were conducted that include a case study on how to accomplish the RPMES Forms and RME Forms, identification of priority projects for results monitoring and accomplishing the RME Forms 1, 2 and 3 for the identified priority projects.

Quitos discussed the overview of Monitoring and Evaluation. He said that M & E serves as an integral component of the overall project development planning process.

Monitoring, according to the Director, is the routine gathering and reporting of actual accomplishments against targets.

While, evaluation is a process of collecting information and it involves the assessment of project implementation with set standards or indicators.

Quitos said it is imperative for LGUs to focus on results and performance and evaluate all its projects.

He said that governments can tell success or failure only if it measure results.

“Through this result-based monitoring and evaluation, we could determine how well a government is performing,” he added.

“Simply put, we are emphasizing on outcomes, how is it achieved over time and we want to know what happened to the beneficiaries,”

Quitos even made mention that among the major towns and cities in region, its only Alaminos (government) that is investing a huge sum for the trainings of its workforce to sustain the delivery of quality services to city residents.

He also lauded that the Braganza administration for its resolve and commitment in embracing said management tool to achieve its noble goals for the city and its people.

Mayor Hernani A. Braganza said the city government will continue to conform to the standards set forth by NEDA to ensure sound governance.

He said with the timely orientation, the city government now has clearer and better understanding on the utmost objectives of each important initiative and whether it is doing the right project.

 And armed with this M & E system, the city could now easily measure outcomes and assess development impacts of every project to the lives of every Alaminian and at the same time gain vital inputs important in future decision-making at various management levels. (CIO)