CAMARINES NORTE – The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) together with Provincial Local Government Units (PLGU) in Camarines Norte is conducting a one week turn-over activities of completed PAMANA projects in the province. These are the road projects in the municipalities of Mercedes, Basud, Labo and Santa Elena, including a Bridge in Caayunan, Basud.

A Multi-Service Peace Caravan will be conducted simultaneous with the turn-over of the bridge project in Caayunan, Basud.

The conduct of Multi-Service Peace Caravan is among the strategies employed by PAMANA in Bicol to make government presence felt especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.

The provinces of Camarines Norte have adopted the strategy and initiated their own multi-service caravans to bring in services in PAMANA and non-PAMANA barangays once a week and monthly respectively.

From 2011 to 2016, PAMANA has allocated a total of PhP766,100,000.00 fund for two hundred seventy eight (278) projects in one hundred nineteen (119) conflict-affected barangays in seven (7) municipalities. Of all the two hundred seventy eight (278) projects, fifty six (56) are Pillar 3 projects (such as roads, bridges, electrification, livelihood projects, water system) and two hundred twenty two (222) are Pillar 2 or community-driven development interventions.

The socio-economic interventions that were implemented in the province thru PAMANA benefitted a number of households, such as the following: (1) A total of 49.64kms of roads and bridges implemented/programmed benefitting 99 barangays; (2) Three (3) livelihood projects benefitting 1,239 fisherfolks and 299 farmers; (3) Twelve (12) water projects benefitting  3,108 HHs in 9 barangays; (4) Seventeen (17) electrification projects benefitting 3,244 HHs in 15 barangays.

Based on initial reports from PAMANA LGUs and beneficiaries on the ground, PAMANA has contributed in improving economic conditions in the areas where projects were implemented.  There are reports of reduced transportation and hauling cost in areas where roads have been completed and increased economic activities due to improved access. Along the completed PAMANA roads, noticeable are newly built houses, newly installed sari-sari stores, increase in the number of transportation vehicles (tricycles and jeepneys) plying the route and increased in the number of households that purchased new motorcycles. Furthermore, some barangay LGUs have reported increase in their annual income.

In 2009, the provincial poverty incidence of Camarines Norte is 30.1 and it further went down to 21.7 in 2012 after various national government programs poured in the province. In December 2014, the Province of Camarines Norte together with 9th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army signed the Memorandum of Agreement after the province was declared as a conflict manageable and ready for further development province. From 78 CNN influenced barangays in 2010, Camarines Norte now has zero CNN influenced barangays (per AFP report as of end of 2016). ###