Over one hundred Agricultural and Fishery Council (AFC) officers, provincial agriculturists, Department of Agriculture (DA) regional accounting and budget officers, and 黑料网 officers and staff gathered for the Fiscal Year 2026 Luzon A Participatory Performance Review and Planning Workshop in Angeles City, Pampanga, on August 11 to 13, 2026.
As the first Luzon cluster conducted under the areawide workshop series, the activity evaluated the physical and financial performance of PCAF regional consultative bodies across the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and Central Luzon, while identifying field-level bottlenecks to shape actionable plans and refine the FY 2027 plan and budget proposal.
A major highlight of the three-day activity was the strategic workshop, “Bridging the Local Gaps: A Strategic Workshop on Strengthening Municipal and Provincial AFC Involvement in Regional Agri-Fishery Consultative Bodies.”
The workshop aimed to address grassroots coordination issues, establish stronger vertical linkages among municipal, provincial, and regional AFCs, and empower them to actively influence regional policy formulation and agricultural program implementation.
Aligned with the PCAF Strategic Plan 2026-2031, the workshop also provided an avenue for AFC representatives to identify strategies and priority interventions for 2027-2031, particularly in strengthening grassroots participation, improving coordination across the different levels of AFCs, and enhancing the council鈥檚 contributions to agri-fishery policy development, program implementation, and participatory monitoring.
Through the discussions, participants identified existing gaps, proposed responsive strategies, and defined forward-looking directions to guide the sustained strengthening of the AFC network over the medium term.
PCAF Executive Director Bernadette De Los Santos emphasized the vital role of grassroots participation and transparent governance in driving rural progress.
“We are here to evaluate our physical and financial performance, address field challenges, and make sure every peso and project is accounted for with complete transparency. We’ll also pinpoint operational bottlenecks so we can build mitigation plans and align our priority strategies for the FY 2027 Plan and Budget Proposal,” Exec. Dir. De Los Santos said.
“Bridging the gap between our local councils and regional bodies ensures that the true pulse of our farmers and fishers is reflected in every policy and peso allocated. PCAF remains committed to providing a venue where grassroots leaders can speak up, elevate their voices, and ensure that our collective plans translate into lasting rural development,鈥� she added.
Aside from the workshop, Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) Senior Institutional Development Specialist Renato Manantan presented the mainstreaming of PRDP innovations into regular DA systems.
While the orientation primarily guided DA planning officers and attached agencies in adopting planning, enterprise, and infrastructure standards, AFC representatives were given an overview of the tools to explore potential Council participation.
Manantan outlined the transition from a binary adoption indicator to an office-level Three-Level Badge System that tracks institutional maturity, from initiation in 2026 to application in 2027 and full institutionalization by 2028. These evidence-based tools, including Value Chain Analysis and geo-mapping, will equip consultative bodies to steer future local project proposals and reinforce strategic planning.
Planning, Monitoring, and Knowledge Management Division (PMKMD) Chief Floreliz Avellana presented the physical accomplishment highlights of the AFCs per region, while Monitoring and Evaluation Section Chief (MES) Engr. Reynaldo Villanueva, Jr. delivered the consolidated Participatory Monitoring and Tracking (PMT) results for FY 2025 and outlined key monitoring initiatives for FY 2026.
The first-semester FY 2026 PMT report evaluated 268 DA-funded projects worth PhP1.03 billion across the Ilocos Region and Central Luzon Region, recording a 55.2% full-utilization rate alongside issues such as missing documentation, inadequate training, and infrastructure gaps.
Meanwhile, data for the Cagayan Valley Region and CAR remain pending following their August 2026 monitoring activities. To ensure that issues identified during previous monitoring activities are adequately addressed, the PMT team will conduct a revalidation scheduled for November 2026 to assess the corrective actions undertaken.
Accounting Section Chief Maria Divina Gonzales discussed fund liquidation statuses, commending the strong coordination between AFCs and DA finance officers, while PMKMD Officer-in-Charge Assistant Division Chief Joane Carla Auditor presented the FY 2027 PCAF Budget Proposal based on the National Expenditure Program.
Drawing from the strategic workshop recommendations and plenary discussions, the Luzon A cluster agreed on the following key operational points:
- Strengthening grassroots escalation: Formalizing regular feedback channels between municipal/provincial AFCs and regional consultative bodies to fast-track the elevation of local agricultural issues to regional policy agendas.
- Targeted MAFC support: With the proposed additional funding support for MAFCs, RAFCs shall develop strategies for identifying priority municipalities that will receive fund support.
- Sustained budget advocacy: PCAF shall continue to advocate for increased budget allocations for AFC consultations and other activities that strengthen AFC operations and stakeholder engagement.
- Agency-level accountability: Submitting consolidated monitoring reports to the DA Undersecretary for Operations to prompt immediate agency-level intervention on identified project bottlenecks.
- Providing adequate safety and logistical support for Participatory Monitoring and Tracking (PMT) Teams, including appropriate personal protective equipment and logistical resources to enable effective and safe conduct of participatory monitoring activities.
- Timely fund management: Ensuring Regional AFCs submit proactive, timely requests for fund utilization extensions to optimize allocated budgets.
The activity concluded by welcoming newly elected AFC officers, reaffirming PCAF’s commitment to empowering local leadership across the agri-fishery sector. | Jezebel Campaniel
