Officials of the DA and DENR lead the discussion on the CCAM-DRR Roadmap and DA’s proposed PAPs for the 2019 Program Convergence Budgeting (PCB). L-R: DENR USec./Chief-of-Staff Analiza Rebuelta-Teh, DA USec. for Policy and Planning Segfredo Serrano, Dir. Miriam Cornelio of the DA Financial and Management Service (FMS), and DA USec. for Operations Ariel Cayanan.
QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) last January 19, 2018 met with the Department of Agriculture (DA) to present the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction (CCAM-DRR) Roadmap for 2018-2022, which had been approved by the members of the CCAM-DRR cabinet cluster, and to discuss the Department’s programs, activities, and projects (PAPs) to be included in the 2019 Program Convergence Budgeting (PCB). The meeting was held at the PCAF-Apacible Conference Room B at the Department of Agriculture.
DENR was represented by Undersecretary and Chief-of-Staff Analiza Rebuelta-Teh, supported by members of the DENR Climate Change Service (DENR-CCS). The consultation was attended by DA Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Segfredo Serrano and Undersecretary for Operations Ariel Cayanan, as well as the directors, chiefs, and technical staff of the Planning and Monitoring Service (PMS), Field Operations Service (FOS), Financial and Management Service (FMS), Accounting Division, Budget Division, Field Programs Operational Planning Division (FPOPD), Monitoring and Evaluation Division (MED), Planning and Programming Division (PPD), Investment Programming Division (IPD), Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD), Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) and the Systems-Wide Climate Change Office (SWCCO). The Office of the Cabinet Secretary (OCS) was also represented by Dir. Angeli Joyce Barafon of the Performance and Project Management Office (PPMO).
DENR USec. Teh said that there would be a Program Convergence Budgeting for FY 2019 due to the budget for climate change not being maximized. She added that this would result in a more strategic National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (NCCAP), preventing agencies from ‘struggling’ to mainstream their programs for climate change and thereby avoid ‘misalignment’ of their budget programs.
The Program Convergence Budgeting (PCB) originates from the Philippine Risk Resiliency Program (RRP), a framework for investing in climate resilience, and with a focus on resiliency of natural systems, environmental quality, and adaptive capacity of communities.
The CCAM-DRR Roadmap has the overall goal of establishing climate- and disaster-resilient communities supporting equitable and sustainable development in 22 vulnerable provinces, 822 coastal municipalities, and major urban centers (e.g. Metro Manila, Cebu, Iloilo and Davao) by 2021.
Priority areas were selected on the basis of the following:
- a) Susceptibility to climate hazards,
- b) High poverty incidence, and
- c) Areas of focus of the government (areas for agricultural development, major river basins, and critical watersheds)
Eight provinces will be prioritized out of 22 vulnerable provinces out of these criteria, namely:
- Western Samar (Region 8)
- Negros Oriental (Region 7)
- Sarangani (Region 12)
- Surigao del Norte (Caraga)
- Surigao del Sur (Caraga)
- Dinagat Islands (Caraga)
- Sorsogon (Region 5)
- Masbate (Region 5)
Key investments for the program are:
- Community Livelihood, and Enterprise Continuity projects,
- Integrated Water Resources Management Projects,
- Enhanced Coastal Protection Projects and,
- Climate Information Services Projects.
Following consultation with their principals, technical staff from the Department of Agriculture are expected to provide their initial submissions for the 2018-2022 CCAM-DRR Roadmap to the DENR. The DENR is optimistic that other agencies will follow DA with their submission.
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