Delegates from the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) went to Cagayan Province the Ceremonial Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) Signing and Capacity Building Activities for two (2) new partners of the BaLinkBayan Project from Cagayan Province last 06-07 February 2024.
MOA Signing Ceremonies between the CFO and the Municipality of Tuao
Sec. Leo V. Arugay spearheaded the CFO team in formalizing the BaLinkBayan partnership with the Municipal Government of Tuao, Cagayan last 06 February 2024. The signing ceremony for the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and Capacity-Building Activities occurred at the Atty. Nards Mamba Memorial Gymnasium and was attended by 71 individuals representing all 32 barangays, including the heads and personnel of essential offices within LGU Tuao.
For the MOA Signing, Tuao LGU was represented by Hon. Mayor William N. Mamba and Mr. Frederick Baligod who served as Tuao LGU’s witness. Sec. Leo Arugay represented the Commission and Director Marita Del Rosario-Apattad of the Project Management Division served as the witness. They are joined by the Head Executive Assistant, Atty. Alma Royandoyan-Alli. After the MOA was signed, the Commission also turned over one high-end laptop for the use of the Tuao LGU in updating their localized BaLinkBayan website.
After the signing ceremonies and the turnover, Dir. Marita Del Rosario-Apattad presented the project overview of BaLinkBayan and discussed the different ways the portal can be used, depending on the needs and local initiatives of the Municipality of Tuao. She emphasized that the portal can serve as a platform that can mainstream migration policies, initiatives, and service of the local government. After that, officers of the CFO conducted the Data Gathering Workshop and Website Management Training simultaneously.
Ms. Marie Linda Santos of PMD facilitated the Data Gathering Workshop, guiding participants in identifying key officers crucial for updating Tuao’s localized BLB website. She provided a comprehensive outline of the essential information from the LGU necessary to accurately represent its services and initiatives for Tuao-born OFs and their families. She also emphasized that the localized website can be used to streamline other migration services and policies of the local government.
Meanwhile, Ms. Ma. Auxilium Obispo II and Ms. Allyza Llabore from the Management Information Systems Division (MISD) conducted the Website Management Training, where they discussed and trained participants on the various aspects of content management and site administration for their BaLinkBayan website. As the LGU representatives possess a stronger familiarity with Joomla, a different content management system, they actively participated in the training on the functionalities of WordPress. The participants were given a chance to do some hands-on exercises by giving them a few exercises on post and page creation containing text, pictures, and video clips.
MOA Signing Ceremonies between the CFO and the City Government of Tuguegarao
The following day, 07 February 2024, the Commission facilitated the Ceremonial Signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between CFO and the City Government of Tuguegarao for the BaLinkBayan Project at the Tuguegarao City Hall. The momentous event was attended by 79 officers from the different departments of the city government.
For the MOA Signing, Tuguegarao City was represented by Hon. Mayor Maila Rosario S. Ting-Que and Councilor Mark Angelo B. Dayag who served as Tuguegarao City’s witness. Sec. Leo Arugay represented the Commission and Dir. Marita Del Rosario-Apattad served as the witness. After the MOA was signed, the Commission also turned over one high-end laptop for the use of the LGU in updating their localized BaLinkBayan website.
Following the signing ceremonies and turnover, Dir. Marita Del Rosario-Apattad provided an overview of the BaLinkBayan project and discussed various ways the portal could be utilized, tailored to the requirements and local initiatives of the Tuguegarao City Government. After the overview, CFO officers simultaneously conducted the Data Gathering Workshop and Website Management Training.
Ms. Patricia Marie Salvador of the PMD led the Data Gathering Workshop, assisting participants in identifying key officers crucial for updating Tuguegarao’s localized BLB website. She outlined the essential information that the LGU must furnish to reflect the LGU’s services and initiatives for Tuguegarao-born OFs and the families they leave behind . The LGU representatives also introduced the different programs and services of the LGU that OFs can benefit from, forming the basic structure of the localized Tuguegarao BLB
website.
Meanwhile, Ms. Ma. Auxilium Obispo II conducted the Website Management Training, where they were briefed about the core concepts of the BaLinkBayan WordPress website for their LGU. The discussion revolved around the administering and then managing of the newly developed website, the dashboard menus and others. The participants were given a chance to do some hands-on exercises by giving them a few exercises on post and page creation containing text, pictures, and video clips. They were also able to modify the contents of the website by changing the arrangement of the menus and sub-menus, backing up the site, and selecting and installing trusted WordPress plugins.
The Tuao LGU and the City Government of Tuguegarao is the 48th and 49th LGU partner of the BaLinkBayan Project, respectively. The two LGUs are the pioneer partners of the Commission for the Project in the Cagayan Province.
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