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| Jeffrey Subaldo in the grp discussion. |
Thirteen members from Kabalaka and San Isidro who were directly involved in the procurement activities were tapped as evaluators and the documentation team as facilitators. This is in lieu of establishing community procurement system in all its community-driven upgrading and housing initiatives of the Alliance.
This one-day-activity was aimed to:
1. Identify any problems or difficulties encountered by the community in carrying out the procurement process and system.
2. Gather insights, suggestions, and recommendations on how to improve existing policies, forms process and system.
3. Improve different procurement forms being used in the procurement of CLIFF housing materials when necessary.
4. Share community experiences and learnings in implementing community-managed procurement.
Summary of Workshop Results and Learnings Gained
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| CLIFF communities share and present their experiences on community procurement. They also provide a list of recommendations to the Alliance for improvement. |
Summary of Workshop Results and Learnings Gained
The assessment did not only focus solely on the procurement procedures and system but also in construction management. Procurement and construction management are two important aspects that interplay whenever we speak about community housing.
Crisis on labour equity, insufficient supply of ICEB blocks and bad weather condition were three factors cited that affects construction pace. Problem on labour equity was the most frequent and common reason that delay the construction across different batches of housing participants. In spite of ample time (6 months to one year) given by the Office for these housing participants to comply their labour equity through community savings or sweat equity from family members, still many could not pay in full prior to actual construction or even on the date of moratorium period. The basic question is: Is it a matter of attitude or affordability issue? If members now have difficulty in complying their equity within an ample and short period of time, how could they repay for the monthly amortization for many years? These learning experiences pose a challenge to the Alliance how to recycle CLIFF capital funds for expansion not only city-wide but nation-wide.
Community members have no difficulty in filling-up the various procurement forms if only they religiously follow their schedule of duty and perform assigned task. Members’ slow participation in site-related activities creates a “domino effect”. Outdated procurement records and discrepancies, purchasing, and site supervision emerged when members stop going to the site to perform their tasks.
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| Presentation and Consolidation of workshop results by Regie |
Community members have no difficulty in filling-up the various procurement forms if only they religiously follow their schedule of duty and perform assigned task. Members’ slow participation in site-related activities creates a “domino effect”. Outdated procurement records and discrepancies, purchasing, and site supervision emerged when members stop going to the site to perform their tasks.
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| Kabalaka HOA won the best drama award for the role playing. |
Task-based teams at the community does not only establish transparency, accountability and trust among the members but also serve as a support arm to the Alliance given the latter’s manpower and resources to implement CLIFF at city scale. Given the problem cited above, it is a challenge to the Alliance how to make these community teams work from the start till the end of the construction.
Living by example is an element for good community leadership. Participants emphasized that it is easy to mobilize the whole community members when officers themselves perform what they preach. Take for instance labour equity issue where members’ equity was slow because they also look up to their officers who many of them did not reach the required equity.
There is no universal formula or specific approach for different batches of housing participant. Each has its own distinct characteristic or dynamics, thus, strategize to be applied should also be relative. Community trainings to prepare and capacitate people for actual construction evolve. The young professionals (YPs) who acts as facilitators were challenged to simplify its trainings without compromising the process and purpose of these capacity building activities.
It is anticipated that workshop results would be integrated in the working procurement manual of the Alliance, to be shared to other regions where HPFPI is seeding.
It is anticipated that workshop results would be integrated in the working procurement manual of the Alliance, to be shared to other regions where HPFPI is seeding.
