MALILIPOT, Albay—“Kailangan ito (4K Program) ng ating mga katutubo,” said Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran ng Kababayang Katutubo (4K) Program Director Lucia A. Campomanes in her message during the conduct of CY 2024 1st Quarter Performance and Budget Utilization Review (PBUR) on April 1-5, 2024 here.
The 4K Program is a special program of the DA following the directives of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte that aims to develop the ancestral domains of the Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) that will lead to improved productivity and increased income while considering the IPs customs, traditions, values, beliefs and interests.
DA-Bicol hosted the activity which was participated in by more than 50 representatives from the different regional and national offices of DA involved in the 4K program.
The PBUR is aimed at reviewing and evaluating the program’s performance; identifying the facilitating and impeding factors affecting the program’s implementation; and apprising the DA management and other oversight offices of the performance of the program, agreements and resolutions.
DA-Bicol OIC-Regional Technical Director for Operations Dr. Marygrace DP Rodriguez disclosed that in the Bicol Region, 4% of approximately 87,000 indigenous people from the provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur and Sorsogon benefitted from the 4Ks program. A total of 41 IP Organizations were organized, strengthen and supported through various agricultural support and interventions.
4K-National Program Management Office (NPMO) Section Head Dr. Norodin S. Malugayak lauded the whole 4K Program for being recognized as a program with good standing for 2023.
“Lahat tayo may ambag dito sa achievement na ito despite the many challenges and issues na kinakaharap natin, “ Malugayak said.
The PBUR had updates on Small Scale Composting Facility Special Guidelines of the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM); establishment of special pilot areas for Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA); approval of the Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering (BAFE) on the Knapsack Sprayer as garden tool; trainings and Binhi ng Pagasa Program conducted by Agricultural Training Institute (ATI); 2025 plans on Specific Commodity Management Training; Indigenous Cultural Communities Profile (ICCP); Indigenous Political Organization (IPO), and Level of Development; resolution from Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF): Internal Budget Hearing Result; status on submitted House Bill to consider 4K program as a banner program; Program Monitoring and Evaluation Tools; Mid-year Impact Assessment; and Presentation of the 4K Physical and Financial Status for the 1st Quarter of CY 2024 from representatives of 4K-NPMO.
National Deputy Director of 4K Program Gerard Neri B. Arañas urged the participants to “participate well in the discussions because it is an assurance of what we will be doing in the future.” (Jayson M. Gonzales with photos from John Kevin Mendoza)