St. Charles Borromeo Retreat House,  Matina Aplaya, Davao City - 3-6 August 2009

CBCP-NASSA BEC Development Center, Tagaytay City - 17-20 August 2009

In the Philippines, the MAPID training programs were jointly implemented and managed by the Scalabrini Migration Center (SMC) and Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO). The training programs in the Philippines were live-in arrangements, which allowed many opportunities for informal discussions, network-building, and provided some opportunities for social activities as well.

Program of the Training Sessions

The MAPID training programs in Davao and Tagaytay followed the following curriculum:

Day 1

Opening Program: messages from the Scalabrini Migration Center, Commission on Filipinos Overseas, and a local government official; introduction of the capacity-building program (objectives; methodology and approach; dynamics; and schedule of activities); and introduction of participants

Module1 - Background and context: overview of the migration-development nexus; and overview of the role of international migration in Philippine society: understanding global, transnational and local connections

Workshop 1: addressing international migration realities in the regional and local contexts.

Day 2

Module 2 - International Migration and Development: Policies, Practices and Perceptions by Government Institutions in the Philippines

Module 3 - Filipino migrants as transnational actors: the voices and views of Filipino migrants of how they view government policies and practices and their current links to Philippine institutions

Module 4 - The role of transnational communities in local development, part 1: the Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino Program (LINKAPIL) implemented by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas

Module 5 - The role of transnational communities in local development, part 2: the contributions of overseas Filipinos and Filipino migrants’ associations to local development in the rest of the regions, based on MAPID research

Module 6- Forging and sustaining transnational cooperation: private sector participation: example of transnational cooperation involving overseas Filipinos and Filipino migrants’ associations in local development projects, with the participation of a private sector institution

Workshop 2: engaging with overseas Filipinos

Day 3

Module 7 - Civil society participation and governance: the involvement of civil society in transnational cooperation, and governance challenges for regional institutions and local government units in policies and practices dealing with the migration-development nexus

Module 8 - Learning from other countries: models and learnings about transnational cooperation from the international community

Module 9 - Stakeholders’ Forum: views and experiences of different stakeholders: Filipino migrants and local chief executives

Workshop 3: development of information programs to bridge the misunderstand or gap between overseas Filipinos and local institutions

Day 4

Final session: Learnings, challenges and proposals for moving forward and closing program

The Training Sessions  

In the Davao training, since the participants were from the Visayas and Mindanao, Modules 2 and 5 highlighted the reports from these regions, and these were presented by Dr. Alan Feranil and Mr. Adonis Gonzales, respectively. A brief overview of the Luzon regional reports in Modules 2 and 5 were included in the presentations of Atty. Roma and Dr. Asis, respectively. In Davao City, Dr. Alan Feranil was contracted to document the proceedings and to present highlights from the proceedings during the final session. He has submitted the documentation and this will be included in the MAPID Philippines 2009 project report. The Davao training coincided with the death of President Corazon Aquino and a brewing typhoon in the Visayas; fortunately, these events did not result in the attrition of participants. The Davao program was attended by 54 participants (108 percent of the target participants) representing different Philippine institutions from the barangay to the regional levels. The implementation of the Tagaytay training benefited from what SMC and CFO learned from the Davao experience.

In the Tagaytay training, since the participants were from the national government agencies and Luzon regions, Modules 2 and 5 highlighted the Luzon reports, and these were presented by Dr. Nenita Villarama, Ms. Alicia Follosco, Dr. Cristina Lim and Dr. Jorge Tigno. A brief overview of the Visayas and Mindanao regional reports in Modules 2 and 5 were included in the presentations of Atty. Roma and Dr. Asis, respectively. In Tagaytay City, Dr. Jorge Tigno was contracted to document the proceedings and to present highlights from the proceedings during the final session. He has submitted the documentation and this will be included in the MAPID Philippines 2009 project report. The Tagaytay program was attended by 62 participants (124 percent of the target participants) representing different Philippine institutions at local, regional and to the national levels. Two of the participants in the Luzon training were from Aklan – they requested to attend the training in Tagaytay City because it was more difficult for them to travel to Davao City.

In both training programs, MAPID Philippines encountered some last minute changes in the participants, as well as some last minute drop outs. However both training programs in the Philippines exceeded the target number of participants (50 per venue). The addition of participants did not result in exceeding the budget limits. In general, the participants in both training programs expressed their appreciation for the new insights or perspectives they have gained and the new ideas that they will bring with them to their institutions. Proposals for do-able activities and projects came out of the workshops and discussions. One of the concrete steps that is now being pursued by SMC is the elaboration of the MAPID website which will provide information on Filipino migrants’ associations in Italy and Spain on the one hand, and information on programs by local institutions on the other hand. SMC will work with the company of Ms. Myrna Padilla - whose BPO company was one of the case studies documented by MAPID Philippines - in developing the website.

Female participants were the majority in both training programs. Majority of the participants held management and supervisory positions such as regional director, director of certain divisions or units, or administrators. There were more participants in Luzon who are in the planning and research division than the Visayas and Mindanao (VisMin) participants. On the other hand, there were more managers and supervisors who attended in Visayas and Mindanao compared to Luzon. There were two regional directors who attended the VisMin training while a Mayor and City Councilor participated in the Luzon training. Further, the regional offices of national agencies were more represented in the VisMin training while the local government units were more represented in the Luzon training.

Participants in the training programs were asked to fill up evaluation forms. There were 38 and 41 participants from the Davao and Tagaytay trainings respectively, who accomplished the evaluation forms. For the majority of participants in both training programs (78 percent), MAPID was the first migration and development related training that they had attended. However, majority of them (58 percent) reported that they had “fairly extensive” knowledge and awareness about international migration issues. Overall, about nine out of 10 participants said that they learned much from the training program. The evaluation also attempted to measure participants’ feedback of the different content areas in relation to their work. Nine out of ten participants rated all the workshops as useful and very useful. The participants were also asked whether they had plans to re-echo or share the MAPID training program with their respective agencies, 92 percent and 95 percent of the Vis/Min and Luzon participants, respectively, answered in the affirmative. All the participants unanimously said that they will recommend the MAPID training to government officers and staff.

 The respondents also indicated some suggestions for follow-up activities. Several participants requested the conduct of trainings, seminars and conferences on a regular basis at all levels and among various stakeholders, including the pursuit of effective information and education campaigns, policy advocacy strategies, and activities for greater understanding and promoting concrete action agenda in addressing migration and development. The participants suggested inviting other participants from other government agencies – Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Board of Investments (BOI), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Health (DOH), Land Transportation Office (LTO), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Bureau of Customs (BOC) - in future MAPID seminars.

Local government officials with active local services for migrants are those with direct contact and cooperation with the migrants. Thus, several participants recommended that future trainings should include the local government officials themselves, particularly the local chief executives. Further, the results of the research and trainings should be transmitted to the chief executives as they are very rich sources of legislative agenda for LGUs and good references in policy analysis and program development.

In both trainings, many participants were not aware about CFO. Some mentioned that they could have tapped the resources of CFO - such as assistance in receiving donations from overseas Filipinos – had they known about CFO’s programs and services. Given its status as an attached agency to the Office of the President, it could have lobbied and advocated to the President the recommendations to address problems, such as customs and tariff duties, tedious processes of transferring donations particularly with the Bureau of Customs, and perceptions about irregularities in dealing with donations from overseas. Thus, CFO should also mainstream its services to the local government units.

The last session of the training program, “Learnings, Challenges and Moving Forward,” also provided insights on the participants’ response to the capacity building exercise. Based on the participants’ identification of lessons learned, barriers to address, and recommendations for moving forward, the training program had significant inputs in raising their awareness about many facets of the migration-development nexus in the Philippines. Participants conveyed to the organizers unsolicited comments and suggestions regarding the training program.

The organizers observed active participation in the workshops and the workshop presentations reflected thoughtful discussion and reflection. Some participants said that they enjoyed the workshop discussions, so much so that they did not mind working overtime. In sum, the various sources of assessment indicate that the capacity building programs were relevant, useful, and provided ideas and good examples for action in various government institutions. The materials produced for the training programs in the Philippines were highly appreciated by the participants. SMC and CFO received several requests for such materials from Philippine institutions and NGOs.