To further assist the Provincial Government of Zambales in the achievement of Governance Reform Targets under their Provincial Governance Reform Roadmap (PGRR), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Zambales facilitated the conduct of Training on Roads and Bridges Information System (RBIS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) under the Conditional Matching Grant to Provinces (CMGP) Program on October 15-17, 2019 at Vista Marina Hotel and Resort, Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ).

The 3-day activity was conducted to capacitate the technical staff of Local Government Units (LGUs) in updating their RBIS portal and local road network map. Last October 2018, the DILG, thru the Office of Project Development Services (OPDS), have launched the Roads and Bridges Information System (RBIS), a web-based system used to capture roads and bridges inventory data. The system provides the Department with information for policy formulation, budget allocation, monitoring, and reporting. It is also a tool to assist the LGUs in road planning and priority setting for road improvements and maintenance.

The activity was attended by the Municipal Engineers, Municipal Planning and Development Coordinators (MPDCs) and GIS experts of the 13 Municipalities of Zambales as well as the technical staff from the Provincial Engineering Office (PEO) and Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO).

Information System Analyst II Clyde B. Malicay, ISA III Nikko D. Baesa, ISA I Maureen Mae Sotto and Administrative Assistant III Jay Lord Francisco of the DILG-OPDS discussed the features of the online system, the roles and responsibilities of the users and operators of the system, and the process of data validation and updating in the RBIS. They also provided demonstration on the use of the system and simulation exercises.

PGRR is a governance reform plan under the implementation of the CMGP for four years (2019-2022) in seven (7) key reform areas on Local Road Management (LRM) and Public Financial Management (PFM). It consists of annual targets and strategies to be achieved by the Provincial Government to efficiently and effectively plan, design, implement, and maintain the local road network of Zambales.

DILG, in its commitment to strengthen capacities of PLGUs in local road management, has provided several Capability Development (CapDev) trainings in the achievement of the reform targets in 2018 and this year, 2019. These CapDev interventions served as avenues to support the PLGU towards the achievement of envisioned socio-economic development of the Province.