Mandaluyong City – The Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) recently conducted a successful review mission in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at the ADB Headquarters in Mandaluyong City on 08 June 2023. This mission brought together key representatives and members from the BLGF Project Management Office (PMO), output team leaders and focal persons of the Project Management and Implementation Structure (PMIS), the Department of Finance (DOF) International Finance Group (IFG) and Revenue Generation and Local Finance Group (RGLFG), and ADB, to assess the progress of Loan No. 3944 PHI: Local Governance Reform Project (LGRP).

Building on the momentum from the recent Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signings with key stakeholders and local government units (LGUs) in March and May 2023, Dr. Aekapol Chongvilaivan, the ADB South Asia Department Senior Economist for Public Finance, expressed enthusiasm for the LGRP’s potential to foster productive discussions and address implementation issues. The meeting served as an opportunity to document the Philippine government’s requests and address concerns regarding the project’s advancement.

In the said meeting, the BLGF outlined the expansion plan for a capacity building program and the revised work plan for the IT implementation under Component 2 and provided substantial justification for the six-month extension of the project loan.

The review mission aims to assess the LGRP implementation and update project implementers on physical accomplishments, ongoing activities, financial performance, and catch-up plans.