On January 12, 2016, NEDA-VI hosted 56 participants from the Strengthening, Upscaling and Mainstreaming Migration and Development (SUMMID) Project of the CALABARZON region.
Eighteen percent or 10.2 million Overseas Filipinos come from CALABARZON, and the SUMMID Project serves as the over-all technical assistance strategy of the Region IV-A Committee on Migration and Development (CMD).
The SUMMID Project representatives and NEDA IV-A Staff with Regional Director Luis Banua came to forge partnership with the key actors of the Migration and Development Initiative for Western Visayas Project (MDI-WV). Specific goals of this benchmarking activity include identifying good practices of the MDI-WV on disaster management that would be helpful in setting-up the sustainability mechanisms for the SUMMID initiatives, to share best practices particularly in line with disaster risk reduction, and for the SUMMID group to conduct ocular visits in Iloilo and Antique.
At the RDC Conference Hall of the NEDA VI Office, Regional Director Ro-Ann Bacal of NEDA VI warmly welcomed the guests and expressed the need to strengthen capacities of migrants who have returned home. Director Bacal cited the valuable efforts of the Migrants Coordinating Group-Western Visayas (MCG-WV) for the assistance they have provided to their clientele.
Ms. Ma. Lourdes Miado, the Chief of NEDA VI Policy Formulation and Plan Division, provided updates on Migration and Development Initiative in Western Visayas. Ms. Miado reported that an estimated 22 Billion pesos worth of remittance were generated from migrants coming from Region VI in 2012. There were 34,474 immigrants and 130,564 OFWs coming from this region. Outputs of the MDI-WV include a regional forum, a regional migration situationer, capacity building activities, establishment of migration centers, creation of a Sub-Committee on International Migration and Development under the Social Development Council, a collective remittance mechanism for Disaster Risk Reduction projects, organizing of Overseas Filipino families.
Ms. Valme Lujan of Iloilo Province presented the initiatives and plans of the League of Local Planning and Development Coordinators (LLPDC) of Western Visayas on behalf of Mr. Mario Nillos. Accomplishments include workshops and a forum on Violence Against Women.
For SUMMID CALABARZON, NEDA IV-A Regional Director Luis G. Banua shared their own initiatives, which include the plan to establish a Resource Center, conduct capability building trainings and investment promotions. (IGPahila/DRD)
