On 22-26 April 2019, the Mindanao Trust Fund- Reconstruction and Development Project Phase II (MTF-RDP/2) conducted its Second Implementation Support Mission (ISM). With the leadership of The World Bank, Community and Family Services International (CFSI), Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), and partners from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) took part in the five-day activity in various conflict-affected areas in Mindanao Southern Philippines.
The activity commenced with a kickoff meeting held in the afternoon of 22 April at Em Manor Convention Hall, Cotabato City. Key Persons from the aforesaid development partners and supporting agencies conveyed their messages to the attendees, highlighting the objectives of the mission. During the meeting, Roberto Tordecilla, outgoing Task Team Leader of the MTF, also delivered his final remarks of gratitude and encouragement. “This process is a two-way learning for all of us. I am leaving the project with inspirations coming from all,” he concluded. He later on introduced Maria Loreta Padua, Senior Social Development Specialist from the World Bank, as the incoming Team Leader.
For the next three days, the implementing partners of the MTF-RDP/2 conducted visits to various project sites and engaged with the communities. ISM Participants also included the Joint Task Forces on Camps Transformation (JTFCT), People’s Organizations (PO), and Community Members, as well as the project contractors involved in the construction of socio-economic infrastructures. Representatives from the Local Government Units (LGUs) and Barangay LGUs were also present as supporting partners.
Findings gathered from the visit were discussed during the Wrap-Up Meeting in the morning of 26 April. Representatives from The World Bank presented recommendations in each the components of the project, specifically Socio-Economic Infrastructures; Alternative Learning System; Capacity and Institution Building; Project Administration, Monitoring and Evaluation; Procurement and Contract Implementation; Financial Management and Environmental and Social Safeguards.
The ISM is a regular activity which generally aims to review the status and progress of the project operation on the ground by identifying the challenges and problems encountered during the course of project implementation. It forms part of the monitoring mechanism which provides implementation support to the project teams imperative for the achievement of the Project Development Objectives.
The MTF-RDP/2, funded by The World Bank through the Mindanao Trust Fund (MTF), is a program instigated through a project partnership agreement between the Community and Family Services International (CFSI) and the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA). This venture seeks to improve access of identified beneficiary communities in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao to basic socio-economic infrastructure and alternative learning system.
The MTFRDP/2 implementation is in accordance with the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB). It encompasses community engagement through development assistance with an objective of transforming the identified areas into participative and dynamic communities.
The MTF is a multi-donor trust fund supported by donors such as the European Union, the government of Sweden, Australia, Canada, United States, New Zealand and the World Bank. The World Bank functions as Trust Fund Administrator of the MTF.
The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) also provided complementary assistance directly to CFSI in support to the objectives of the MTF-RDP/2 through the project referred to as “Supporting Access to Basic Services and Building Institutional Capacity in Conflict Affected Areas in Mindanao or MTF-RDP/2-AECID.”