Matuwid na Daan, DA’s response to call for transparency in gov’t

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
June 18, 2012

TACLOBAN CITY  –  The Department of Agriculture is slated to launch on July 5, 2012, the Matuwid na DAAN project, in response to the call for transparency in government transactions and as a manifestation of its desire to win back the trust and confidence of the Filipino people.

DA Regional Executive Director Antonio Gerundio said that officials from the DA Central Office recently visited Eastern Visayas in order to introduce the new project to the DA Regional Field Unit 8 staff.

“Dir. Gary Glenn B. Fantastico of the Department of Agriculture (DA)-Information Technology Center for Agriculture and Fisheries (ITCAF), together with ITCAF Consultant Mr. Carlo Cachuela, introduced to the DA-8 management the Matuwid na DAAN Project which stands for the Department of Agriculture Accountability Network which will be launched on July 5, this year,” RED Gerundio said.

The Matuwid na Daan is basically a web portal which provides readily-accessible information on DA’s performance and accomplishments.

It will virtually, give face to DA’s advocacy on adhering to accountability and transparency in pursuing food security while promoting public awareness of its community-focused projects and activities nationwide, Director Fantastico said.

Matuwid na Daan, Director Fantastico disclosed, will feature a running account of all DA projects vis-à-vis their fund allocation and cumulative disbursements, completion period, percentage of accomplishment and other relevant data, including regularly updated photos, so as to enable the public to track down and evaluate the proper use of agency resources.

Dir. Fantastico said, “This website will empower the DA constituents and the rest of the nation to contribute to the effective and efficient implementation of agriculture-related projects in their respective localities by reporting their actual status, validating receipt of government assistance or otherwise, sharing knowledge and skills, introducing best practices, or simply becoming aware and making full use of the government’s services for community-based agricultural development.”

Dir. Wilson A. Cerbito, DA-8’s Regional Technical Director for Research and Regulations commended the DA-ITCAF for coming up with such a project for it has opened an opportunity for DA-8 to show its outputs on the Inventory System on Agriculture and Fishery Investments (ISAFI) Project which was already implemented in the four provinces in the region, namely, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Biliran and Eastern Samar.

RTD Cerbito further revealed that ISAFI Project will be rolled out to the two remaining provinces, Samar and Northern Samar, by July of this year, as ordered by the DA Central Office.