Headed by Secretary Romulo “Leo” V. Arugay, the Commission has formally signed a Memorandum of Agreement for the BaLinkBayan Project with Cabagan, Isabela—the 3rd official LGU partner for BaLinkBayan in Cagayan Valley– last 29 May 2024.
Atty. John Paul Dela Rosa, Legal Officer of Cabagan LGU, provided the opening remarks and expressed the heartfelt thanks and appreciation of Cabagan for this partnership. He remarked that this partnership will open the doors for overseas Cabageños to be able to connect back to their hometown.
Dir. Marita Del Rosario-Apattad of the Project Management Division started the activities with the Project Overview of BaLinkBayan. She emphasized the significance of engaging overseas Filipinos as continuous development partners of LGUs. Further, she highlighted the different features of the portal and how it will assist the LGU in the promotion of its programs and services for migrants. She also provided examples of how the localized BaLinkBayan portal of Cabagan can help the LGU highlight and further streamline their services and programs for migrants and families they leave behind.
After that, CFO conducted the concurrent activities of the Data Gathering Workshop and the Website Management Training. Ms. Patricia Marie Salvador facilitated the Data Gathering Workshop, while Ms. Allyza Llabore conducted the Website Management Training.
Sec. Leo Arugay and Cabagan Mayor Atty. Christopher “Topi” A. Mamauag officially signed the Memorandum of Agreement for the BaLinkBayan Project. The Commission also turned over a laptop donation to help develop the localized BaLinkBayan website of the Cabagan LGU.
In his message, Sec. Arugay thanked the Cabagan LGU for the warm welcome to the CFO delegation. He distinguished the difference of CFO from other migrant-serving government agencies. He also briefly discussed the different programs and services of the Commission and highlighted the different features of the main BaLinkBayan portal. In closing, he expressed his hopes that this partnership will allow overseas Cabageños to still be deeply-connected with their hometown.
On the other hand, Atty. Mayor Topi Mamauag expressed his hope that this partnership under BaLinkBayan will be the start for more fruitful collaborations between Cabagan and CFO in service of Cabageños. He highlighted that partnerships with national government agencies can pave the way for better services and better delivery of services to the local government units. He hopes that this collaboration would bring forth good ideas and initiatives to better serve the stakeholders.
The rest of the day is centered on the continuation of the Data Gathering Workshop and the Website Management Training.
Cabagan, Isabela is the 51st LGU partner and the 61st partner overall for the BaLinkBayan Project.
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