Agrarian Reform Conrado Estrella III is mobilizing all his field officials to keep an eye on all rural infrastructure sub-projects that have already been completed and turned over to concerned local government units (LGUs) and ensure that they are properly maintained and functioning according to their designs and purposes.

Estrella said that it is vital for every regional and provincial agrarian reform official to see to it that all completed rural infrastructure sub-projects and those already turned over to concerned LGUs are monitored and their overall condition determined for proper management and maintenance.

“Keeping these rural infrastructures at their best condition helps sustain the gains the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) has worked for through the years,” Estrella said, referring to sub-projects implemented under its foreign-assisted special projects program.

Atty. Milagros Isabel Cristobal, Undersecretary for Support Services, urged all DAR regional directors and provincial agrarian reform program officers to institutionalize the conduct of the sustainability, monitoring and evaluation (SME) scheme “to preserve and restore the system of completed sub-projects.”

“We need to maintain in good condition completed foreign-assisted special sub-projects according to their designs and accepted configurations to offset the effects of weather, organic growth, traffic wear, damage or vandalism and to preclude deterioration of structures and appurtenant facilities over time,” Cristobal stressed.

Cristobal enjoined the field officials of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to conduct periodic SME on completed and turned-over rural infrastructure sub-projects as part of the program beneficiaries development program.

She also advised them to coordinate with concerned LGUs and monitor their compliance of providing operational and maintenance funds during the 10-year reglementary period from the date the projects were turned over to them to ensure that these sub-projects are properly maintained, functioning and beneficial to their intended beneficiaries.

Providing operational and maintenance funds for the DAR’s foreign-assisted special projects are clearly stipulated in the memoranda of agreement the concerned LGUs had forged with the DAR and the foreign financing institutions, in which the financial grants for the implementation of the projects will be reverted to loans and shouldered by the negligent LGUs.

Pinakikilos ni Agrarian Reform Conrado Estrella III ang lahat ng kanyang field officials na bantayan ang lahat ng natapos at naipasa nang mga rural infrastructure sub-projects sa mga lokal na pamahalaan upang tiyakin na ang mga ito ay maayos at nananatiling kapaki-pakinabang ayon sa disenyo at layunin ng mga ito para sa mga pamayanan.

Sinabi ni Conrado Estrella na napakahalagang masubaybayan tuwina ng bawat opisyal ng DAR sa mga rehiyon at mga lalawigan ang mga natapos at naipasa nang mga proyekto upang mapanatiling maayos ang pamamahala at pagpapanatili nito.

“Ang pagpapanatili ng mga imprastraktura sa kanayunan sa maayos na kondisyon ang siyang makatutulong upang tuloy-tuloy ang pag-arangkada ng Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) tungo sa pagpapaunlad sa kanayunan,” ani Estrella na tinutukoy ang mga sub-projects na ipinatupad sa ilalim ng foreign-assisted special projects nito.

Hinikayat naman ni Atty. Milagros Isabel Cristobal, Undersecretary for Support Services, ang lahat ng regional directors at provincial agrarian reform program officers ng Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), ang pagsasagawa ng sustainability, monitoring and evaluation (SME) scheme upang “mapanatiling maayos at kapaki-pakinabang ang lahat ng sub-projects na natapos at naipasa na sa mga LGUs.

“Kailangan nating mapanatili sa maayos na kondisyon ang mga natapos nang mga sub-projects sang-ayon sa kani-kanilang mga disenyo at kapakinabangan upang maiwasan ang pagkasira nito dahil sa ngitngit ng kalikasan, pagkaluma o bandalismo,” diin ni Cristobal.

Inatasan ni Cristobal ang mga DAR field officials na magsagawa na regular na SME sa lahat ng natapos at naipasa nang mga rural infrastructure sub-projects bilang bahagi ng program beneficiaries development program.

Pinaalalahanan din ni Cristobal ang mga ito na makipag-ugnayan sa mga kinauukulang LGUs at subaybayan kung nasusunod ng mga ito ang pagpapalabas ng operational at maintenance funds sa loob ng 10-taong reglementary period mula sa petsa na ibigay sa kanila ang mga proyekto upang matiyak na ang mga sub-project na ito ay maayos na pinanatili, gumagana at kapaki-pakinabang sa kanilang nilalayong mga benepisyaryo.

Ang pagpapalabas ng operational at maintenance funds para sa foreign-assisted special projects ng DAR ay malinaw na nakasaad sa mga memoranda of agreement na napagkasunduan ng mga LGUs, DAR at ng mga foreign financing institutions kung saan ang financial grants sa pagpapagawa ng mga nasabing proyekto ay mauuwi bilang utang panlabas kapag nasira ang mga ito bago lumipas ang 10 taon mula nang maipasa sa LGUs at babayaran ang utang ng nagpabayang LGUs.