In order that reforms in terms of poverty alleviation and social protection are achieved, the voice of the “bosses” should be heard and decision-making power relative to their development needs should likewise be exercised by them. Thus, the government works towards these reforms and its ultimate goal of empowering the local communities in uplifting their economic status through Bottom Up Budgeting (BUB), among others.

Bottom Up Budgeting, formerly known as Grassroots Participatory Budgeting, is an approach in formulating budget proposal of national government agencies taking into consideration the development needs of poor municipalities as identified in their respective Local Poverty Reduction Action Plan (LPRAP) formulated with strong participation of national government agencies, local government units (LGUs), civil society organizations (CSOs) and people’s organizations.

In the implementation of BUB-funded programs, the participating agencies, like the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and stakeholders are guided by the principle of convergence wherein all government and private interventions are   complemented and coordinated to attain the millennium development goal of reducing poverty.

To ensure the success of   the implementation of the programs, it is imperative that they must be monitored. For DSWD FO 02, it is continuously intensifying its collaborative efforts in monitoring and validating all BUB projects extended to implementing Local Government Units.

For the first quarter of this year, FO 02 reaped the benefits of one of the strategies it devised in 2014, the creation of BUB Provincial Teams.

The creation of said teams stems from the lack of provision for a staff or officer designated to monitor such programs.

Five (5) teams were created and assigned to the five (5) provinces in the region and headed by the Provincial Team Leaders. The Provincial Team Leaders are division chiefs while members of each team are composed of the staff of the program and staff from the finance department. It also provided for alternate team leaders so as to assure stability in the implementation of the programs.

“This strategy in the composition of Provincial Teams seeks to immediately address the challenges in the project considering that each team is composed of members with varying expertise. Likewise, this set up provides for checks and balance in the implementation of the projects,” expressed BUB Technical Working Group Chairperson and DSWD FO 02 Assistant Regional Director for Operations, Ponciana P. Condoy.

As a result of this convergence strategy, challenges in the implementation of BUB projects were met such as facilitation of the submission of the Technical Requirements of the LGUs and minimal error in the submitted technical requirements of the LGUs, among others.

Recently, a Program Implementation Review was conducted with the five BUB Provincial Teams where the efficiency and functionality of the teams were assessed. The teams were also able  to come-up with a catch-up plan for the unfinished 2014 BUB projects and an action plan for 2015 BUB projects.

It is hoped that this convergence strategy will usher in more progress in the implementation of BUB projects for the attainment of the government’s goal of empowering local communities. ### By: Gela Flor R. Perez, Regional Information Officer II