Project Monitoring in South Cotabato, Philippines_August 2011

Together with fellow monitors, we went to selected areas in the municipalities of Lake Sebu, T'boli, Surallah and Tantangan, all in the province of South Cotabato, Philippines to visit some programs and projects being implemented by national government agencies.  As we went on trekking at these places, I had the chance to also capture images of nature, especially the scenic lake in Lake Sebu . . .

At a reforestation site in Surallah, South Cotabato. This is one of the identified areas under the National Greening Program (NGP), a massive greening program aimed at reducing poverty in the countryside while ensuring food security, biodiversity conservation and address climate change.  NGP hopes to regain the country’s depleting forest areas and ensure self-sufficiency in its timber needs.  The program consolidates all reforestation efforts by the government and would be carried out by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, as the lead agency, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Agrarian Reform.  The NGP will draw its strength from people’s participation through social mobilization with the whole bureaucracy serving as the prime mover in the greening program. Under this program, the government targets to plant 1.5 billion trees covering about 1.5 million hectares of lands in public domain from 2011 to 2016. (photos by Peter Babao and Ayala Ignes)

The following photographs that I've taken are scenes of Lake Sebu, a natural lake located in the municipality of Lake Sebu in South Cotabato Province, Philippines.  
The lake has a surface area of 3.54 sq. kms, an elevation of about 1000 meters above mean sea level, and has a maximum depth of 34 meters. The lake is within the Alah Valley Protected Landscape, a declared protected area under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992.  The Philippine government has recognized it as one of the country's most important watersheds.  Lake Sebu is surrounded by rolling hills and forested mountains and is home to the T'boli, a highland tribe famous for their colourful costumes, complicated beadwork, woven work and brass ornaments.  The lake is being used for Tilapia Culture. It also irrigates the fertile Allah Valley; the area surrounding Lake Sebu has many small streams, rivers, springs and creeks. Local people say that the lake is a God-given food basket and a miraculous body of water that never dries up.

Lake Sebu during crack of dawn.  Mt. Matutum at distant north.

Interviewing some 4Ps beneficiaries in a T’boli community in the Municipality of T’boli, South Cotabato Province.  The 4Ps or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program is a poverty reduction and social development strategy of the national government that provides conditional cash grants to extremely poor households to improve their health, nutrition and education particularly of children aged 0-14. The granting of cash grant will extend up to a maximum of 5 years. (photos by Peter Babao)

A schoolbuilding project in Barangay Edwards, T’boli, South Cotabato. (photos by Ayla Ignes)

At a road project in Koronadal City.  It involves asphalt overlay on 2.10 kilometers of existing concrete pavement.   The road project is included in the list of Assets Preservation of National Roads, as generated or identified through the Pavement Management System / Highway Development and Management Model 4 (HDM-4).  The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) uses the HDM-4, as the economic analytical tool to develop both long term plans and medium term multi-year work programmes for the management of its roads. HDM-4 predicts the future deterioration of roads for a specified analysis period.  Asphalt overlaying is one appropriate strategy for maintaining the roads and help preserve or prevent deterioration of the concrete pavement over the long term.

At a section along the Surallah-Lake Sebu-Maitum Road, a secondary National Road which if completed, would directly link the existing Cotabato-Isulan-Surallah-Koronadal-Gen.Santos National Arterial Road in South Cotabato Province and the Sarangani-Sultan Kudarat Coastal Road in Sarangani Province.  The road will provide a shorter link between the coastal towns of Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat to the regional center in Koronadal City via Lake Sebu and Surallah towns in South Cotabato.   A potential eco-road, where it will pass through and lead to the eco-tourism sites of the municipalities of Lake Sebu and Maitum. However, pre-cautionary measures have to be made as the area will be exposed to destructive human exploitation. (photo by Ayla Ignes)