PhilHealth SHInES: Videoconference

PhilHealth President & CEO Dr. Eduardo P. Banzon delivered a nation-wide educational campaign called PhilHealth SHInES: Social Health Insurance Educational Series last November 26, 2012 at Asian Institute of Management (AIM). The said campaign was simultaneously broadcasted with the six (6) Knowledge for Development Centers (KDCs) across the country via videoconference.

The participants from SPUP-KDC composed of administrators, faculty members, staff and maintenance personnel were further enlightened regarding the new policies as Mr. Buddy De Jesus, the Press Relation Officer of PhilHealth Regional Office 02, entertained their enquiries.  Mr. Ronaldo Sumait, Knowledge Facilitator of the SPUP-KDC served as local organizer of the videoconference.

Dr. Banzon emphasized the philosophy behind social health insurance – social solidarity and equity.  Through PhilHealth SHInES: all sectors are provided with the knowledge and understanding of social health insurance.  It is hoped that through the SHInES, all Filipinos will now participate in the National Health Insurance Program in a well-informed and responsive manner.

 The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation together with the Department of Health, envisions the country to attain Universal Health Care (UHC) or Kalusugang Pangkalahatan (KP).  Through the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP), PhilHealth seeks to provide financial risk protection to all Filipinos and ensure that no Filipino will be afraid of getting sick.

SPUP-KDC Attends SERP-P Network Members' Meeting

Mr. Ronaldo Sumait, the SPUP-KDC Librarian/Knowledge Facilitator, joined the 33 academic and research institutions from all over the Philippines in the SERP-P`s Third Network Members` Meeting last November 20 in Makati City.

The importance of making the fruits of socioeconomic research easily available to a wide audience to promote knowledge exchange and collaboration was highlighted in the event.

The SocioEconomic Research Portal for Philippines or SERP-P is an online knowledge bank which contains completed, ongoing and pipeline research studies related to socioeconomic development and policymaking in the Philippines. Since its inception in 2000, SERP-P has grown into a network of 48 academic and research institutions from all over the country and now hosts over 5,000 studies in different formats. Studies that may be downloaded from the SERP-P include working papers, journal articles and discussion papers, to name a few. SERP-P was initiated and is being managed by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), a government policy think-tank based in Makati City.

In his opening statement, PIDS President Josef Yap emphasized the important role of research and analysis in policymaking. He explained that one of the core mandates of PIDS enshrined in its charter is the establishment of a repository for economic research information and other related activities. He further stressed that SERP-P is an excellent platform that serves as a portal and one-stop repository for all socioeconomic policy studies in the country. Anyone who is looking for studies related to a particular socioeconomic issue can simply go SERP-P, do a search using keywords and browse through the studies available in the database. SERP-P is a valuable tool not only for policymakers in crafting research and evidence-based policies but also for researchers and students of the social sciences who are writing their theses and dissertations. SERP-P is currently linked to the Economic Resource Base for Legislators (ERBL), a website containing major socioeconomic bills filed at the House of Representatives.

Member institutions of the SERP-P can directly upload their studies into the database, provide keywords, abstract, and even the full text of the papers. In the future, the SERP-P will include an inventory of social science experts in the country. Experts will be classified according to their fields of expertise. This experts` database is intended to promote knowledge exchange and research collaboration among social scientists in the Philippines. For the general public, a moderated forum is available so that users of the SERP-P can raise questions, interact and share information with one another.

ACKGT: SERP-P

KIRN-KDC Attended National Summer Conference

The Philippine Association of Academic and Research Librarians, Inc. (PAARL) hosted a 3-day National Summer Conference with a theme: Planning, Developing and Managing Digitization & Research Projects for Libraries and Information Centers.  This professional activity attended by the KIRN Director, Rosalinda Tanguilan and the KDC Librarian/Information Staff, Ronaldo Sumait  was held last April 18-20, 2012  in Coron, Palawan.  

The theme of the said endeavor specifically evolved on the following objectives: a) to have a better understanding of the emerging trends and practices in planning and implementation of library digitization projects; b) to be able to have good choices, and where appropriate, to initiate successful digital imaging and digitization programs at their home institutions; and c) to be able to define and design a low cost digitization project applicable in libraries and information centers.

Aside from the fruitful lectures delivered by the mentors in the field of librarianship, the participants were also awestruck with the beauty of Mother Nature when they visited and explored the famous tourist destinations of Coron: the Twin Lagoon, Maquinit Hot Spring, and the recognized cleanest lake in Asia – the Kayangan Lake.

On Site Monitoring Tool Try-Out (Peñablanca)

The Local Monitoring Team (LMT) of Peñablanca has conducted an On Site Monitoring Tool Try-Out in the barangay of Cabasan, Peñablanca, Cagayan. The project entitled "Joint Monitoring and Evaluation of the Flood Preparedness of the DRRMP Rescue Team of Peñablanca, Cagayan" is another venture instigated by the La Salle Institute of Governance and funded by the World Bank.

The LMT of Peñablanca

On Site Monitoring Tool Try-Out (Solana)

The Local Monitoring Team (LMT) composed by the Academe - SPUP, CSO - Green Meadow Development Foundation, Inc. (GMDFI) and  the Local Government Unit of Solana has conducted an On Site Monitoring Try-Out in the newly-constructed public market.  The activity aimed to validate and finalize the drafted monitoring tools for actual implementation.

The Local Monitoring Team of Solana in Action

This project entitled "Monitoring the Utilization of the Newly-Constructed Solana Public Market" was initiated by La Salle Institute of Governance and funded by the World Bank with a theme "Institutionalizing Civil Society Monitoring Public Service Delivery to the Poor".

SPUP, WBOM and TAN Videoconference

Videoconference On Improving The Quality And Responsiveness Of Public Spending In Poor Communities Through Localized Procurement Reform

SPUP – Knowledge for Development Center (KDC) has conducted a videoconference with KDC Manila, and Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN) via Polycom based at World Bank Office in Manila (WBOM) with a theme Improving The Quality And Responsiveness Of Public Spending In Poor Communities Through Localized Procurement Reform last February 10, 2011. The Vice President for Academics, Dr. Antonio Talamayan, headed the SPUP team while Executive Director, Mr. Vincent Lazatin, presided the TAN group.

The project also known as Localized Procurement Reform aims at improving the delivery of poverty reduction programs in the communities through the adoption of transparent and participatory procurement mechanisms where the community and civil society organizations are involved in key elements of the procurement process.

Its key innovative feature is the development of an enabling partnership between the community members and CSOs and the local government units for procurement reform. It promotes the participation of volunteers from poor communities in barangay and municipal bids and awards and committees, and supports the institutionalization of participatory procurement processes.

Intended beneficiaries would include community members in barangays located in the twelve (12) target municipalities across the country based on a criteria developed by TAN. Amulung, Cagayan, a third class municipality which composed of 47 barangays has been fortunately identified as a lone pilot municipality in the region.

Known for its excellence and active community involvement, SPUP has been tapped as an academic/training institution and expected to perform the following tasks:

1. Training

a. Identify possible resource persons that will attend and be trained on the manuals developed by the project and contract the same for the series of trainings,

b. Organize and conduct the series of municipal and barangay training activities

2. Pilot testing

a. Plan for the actual pilot testing of the manuals specially the community participation in procurement manual at the barangay level

b. Provide coaching to the participants during the pilot testing of the manual

c. Gather insights, lessons, and other information related to the pilot-testing for the manual’s and the pilot testing’s improvement

3. Documentation

a. Submit reports documenting the pilot testing of the manuals including insights and lessons on the processes and suggest ways to improve the manuals

b. Present and share these lessons and experiences during the learning exchanges to be conducted by late 2012 or early 2013.

The following manuals will be developed through this project and pilot tested in the 12 municipalities (half of which will come from Kalahi-CIDSS):

o Community participation in procurement manual

o Procurement Manual for Local Government Units

o Observer’s Guide to Procurement

o Supplemental Modules on Social Accountability and Resource Mobilization

A series of trainings will be conducted to train municipal officers, barangay government officials, CSOs on these manuals. These manuals will be tested, finalized, published, and recommended for adoption by the government by the end of project life (2013).

The Videoconference Participants
SPUP: Dr. Talamayan, Dr. Tanguilan, Mr. Imperio, Mr. Cambri and Mr. Sumait
KDC & TAN: Mr. Grageda, Mr. Abrigo, Mr. Lazatin, Mr. Abadeza and Ms. Flores