15 August 2023 — The CFO delegation headed by Secretary Leo V. Arugay and accompanied by Dir. Marita Del Rosario-Apattad, Ms. Lindsay Mercado, and Ms. Marie Linda Santos of the Project Management Division (PMD), Ms. Ma. Auxilium Obispo II of the Management Information Systems Division (MISD), and Ms. January Sanchez of the Office of the Secretary (OSEC) went to San Ildefonso, Bulacan to attend the MOA Signing Ceremonies and Capacity Building Activities with San Ildefonso Local Government Unit (LGU) for the BaLinkBayan Project.
The group arrived at Kuya Hermie’s Place in San Ildefonso at 10:05 a.m.. The program officially started at around 10:30 a.m.. Ms. Lindsay Mercado of PMD is the focal person for the partnership and also served as the host for the program.
The event started with the Signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) led by Sec. Arugay and San Ildefonso Mayor Fernando “Gazo” Galvez. Dir. Del Rosario-Apattad of PMD and Mr. Alvin Villaceran (Municipal Business Permit and Licencing Office) served as the witnesses to the MOA.
The Commission also donated a PC unit for the use of the LGU in developing and maintaining their localized BaLinkBayan website. This will help the LGU in updating and developing its localized BaLinkBayan website.
Mayor Galvez also shared his and the LGU’s commitment to utilize the localized BaLinkBayan portal of San Ildefonso to serve his constituents better. Further, he thanked the Commission for its efforts to tap local communities and promised that San Ildefonso will utilize the portal to provide services to overseas Filipinos (OFs), as well as the families they leave behind.
Sec. Arugay also shared his message of gratitude to Mayor Galvez and officers from San Ildefonso for their interest and active participation in the day’s undertaking. He also shared his hope that through the BaLinkBayan portal, local communities will have an additional platform to provide services to everyone, especially to OFs, who are vital partners in local development.
After that, Dir. Marie Del Rosario- Apattad then provided an overview of the BaLinkBayan Project and how this partnership will help San Ildefonso LGU better serve those OFs and the families they leave who hail and/or reside in San Ildefonso. She also emphasized the importance of the municipal government in streamlining all possible services for the benefit of OFs.
During the afternoon session, Ms. Mercado conducted the Data Gathering Workshop training with thirty-three (33) participants. This training was essential in informing the participants on how to use the localized BaLinkBayan website to promote migration and development programs implemented in their LGU. The training also helped them identify relevant and available data that will be the contents of the localized website. Participants also had the opportunity to present their services for migrants briefly and were able to brainstorm on the contents of their localized website.
Simultaneously, Ms. Obispo conducted the Website Management Training with five (5) IT personnel participants. This training helped site managers to view and customize the look and feel of the localized BaLinkBayan website of San Ildefonso. The training also gives them tools and information that can help them fix any issues with the site should they encounter problems in the future.
The Capacity Building Activities concluded at around 3:30 pm. The San Ildefonso LGU is the 41st LGU partner of the BaLinkBayan Project, and the 51st partner overall.
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