Guidelines on Selection, and

Prioritization of Project Proposals in the

Regional Development Council 2 –
Project Development Assistance Center

I. INTRODUCTION

The increase in the allocation of local government units’ (LGUs) from the
national budget, along with other revenue-enhancing initiatives for the LGUs,
points to an increase in demand for local development projects in the future.
However, LGUs are still confronted with issues on project preparation and
implementation readiness.

Thus, the Regional Development Council 2 – Project Development

Assistance Center (PDAC) was reactivated to assist stakeholders by providing
technical assistance and advisory services, among others. The PDAC will guide
stakeholders develop plan-responsive and well-aligned proposed projects, assist
in the enhancement and preparation of implementation-ready business case
project proposal, and facilitate RDC 2 sectoral committee evaluation of projects for
forward endorsement and approval of the Full Council.

II. OBJECTIVES

The guideline aims to provide the criteria to select and prioritize projects
which will be endorsed for PDAC technical assistance and advisory services. This
is to ensure that PDAC resources are allocated in project proposals that are high-
impact and doable.

III. GUIDELINES

The submitted proposals will be subjected to two stages, the first stage is
the shortlisting listing of projects, and the second stage is prioritization of
shortlisted projects.

Stage 1: Shortlisting

Submitted project proposals will be screened based on its eligibility for

inclusion. The projects should be listed under the types of eligible projects under
the PDAC Terms of Reference (Table 1) and/ or specifically endorsed to PDAC by
the Regional Development Council and/ or its Committee.

Page 1 of 9
 Table 1. List of eligible projects under the PDAC Terms of Reference
Sector Focal Support Agency Types of Projects
Agency

Rural DA NIA, DILG irrigation, FMR, market facility, and

Infrastructure post-harvest facility

BFAR fish port, and post harvest

Social DPWH DepEd, DOH educational and training, health, and

Infrastructure wellness facilities

Urban DPWH DILG water supply system, commercial

Infrastructure center, transport terminal, local
independent power producer

DENR, EMB sewerage and drainage system

National DPWH NIA, CAAP, PPA, national roads and bridges, dams
Infrastructure DOE, CEZA, OCD and water reservoir, airport, seaport
and port area development, power
generation and distribution,
development of economic zones,
disaster rehabilitation and
reconstruction, flood control, river
protection, seawall, breakwater

Non- DTI DOST technology and innovation

Infrastructure
DOLE, DSWD, CDA livelihood, community development,
MSMEs, social welfare and
protection

DA, BFAR agricultural and fishery production

and marketing

DENR DOT, EMB, BFAR tourism, environmental protection,

conservation and management,
coastal resources management,
materials recovery facility, sanitary
landfill, public cemetery

Page 2 of 9
 Stage 2: Prioritization

After generating the shortlist of projects, the project proposals will be

evaluated using the set of prioritization criteria (Table 2) to determine the level of
priority for technical assistance and advisory services to be provided by PDAC.
The following discussion and tables present the details of each category.

Table 2. Summary and description of prioritization criteria for the

shortlisted project proposals
Category Description Weight
(in %)
A. Impact – 75%
Responsiveness Responsiveness of the PAP/s to the new and 30
emerging priorities, and to the collective
long-term vision and aspirations of the
Filipino people (AmBisyon Natin 2040)
Urgency Refers to necessity of project in addressing 25
current situations and conditions requiring
intervention from government or proposals
that will significantly impact on or boost the
regional/ local economy.
Scope of Benefits Refers to the significance of the project in 20
terms of geographic area (number of LGUs
covered) and magnitude of target
beneficiaries (population)
B. Doability/ Readiness – 25%
Institutional Enabling mechanisms for proponent agency 15
Capability to facilitate for financial support and
execution of proposed projects, the
availability of technical experts, and other
resources for the conduct of a feasibility
study or updating of the feasibility study.

Level of Project Availability of supporting documents, data 10

Preparation and/ or information for the conduct of a study
or availability of project proposals, business
case, pre-FS and FS that needs updating.
Total 100

Page 3 of 9
A. Impact

1. Responsiveness (30%)

Responsiveness refers to the impact of the project to the national and

regional thrusts and priorities (PDP, CVRDP) including new and emerging
priorities, and collective long-term vision and aspirations of the Filipino people
(AmBisyon Natin 2040).

The proposed projects will be evaluated based on their responsiveness to

the following priorities:

i. COVID-19 Recovery and Rehabilitation

a. Health, Nutrition and Wellness Services – Primary,
secondary, and tertiary care, pharmaceuticals, wellness facilities,
sports and fitness facilities, among others
b. Food Resiliency/ Agriculture – Food security, food
production, commercial and industrial crop, agricultural
biotechnology, among others
c. Digital Connectivity – Digital infrastructures and logistics, and
provision of basic services through government digital platforms,
among others
d. Financial Services – Consumer financing, enterprise
financing, and insurance savings mobilization, among others
e. Implementation of Executive Order No. 114 (s. 2020) – Balik
Probinsya, Bagong Pag-Asa Program (BP2)
ii. Social Services – PAPs that accelerate human capital development,
reduce vulnerabilities of individuals and families and promote Philippine
culture and values.
iii. Governance – PAPs that would aid poor, disadvantaged and lagging
local government units (LGUs), Implementation of RA 11032 known as
the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery
Act of 2018, among others
iv. Transport Connectivity – PAPs that focuses on addressing intra and iter-
regional accessibility to cope and improve efficiency in land transport to
include development of alternate routes to address increasing traffic
demands
v. Support to Industry Clusters and MSMEs – PAPs that create an enabling
environment for business and support the growth and development of
the region’s priority industry clusters and MSMEs, and those that
promote and assist micro and small coops in their efforts for their

Page 4 of 9
 sustainability (value chain development, capacity building/ training,
product development and technology promotion, among others)
vi. Peace and development initiatives – PAPs that would support the
implementation of Executive Order No. 70 (s.2018) institutionalizing the
Whole-of-Nation Approach to End Local Communist Armed Conflict,
and other peace and development initiatives for the region.
vii. Climate Resiliency/ DRR-related initiatives/ interventions – PAPs that
would mitigate the impacts of climate change; protect and restore the
environment and promote sustainable use of natural resources,
viii. Environmental sustainability – PAPs that are in support to the
implementation of the several environmental laws such as Clean Air Act,
Clean Water Act, Solid Waste Management Act, among others
ix. Gender and Development – PAPs that are gender responsive or
addresses gender issues in the region
x. Agri- Productivity – PAPs that increases economic oppurtunities to
agriculture, forestry and fisheries (AFF) within ecological limits, develop
AFF enterprises, provide access to value chains, technology and
financing
xi. Tourism – PAPs necessary to maximize tourism potential of the regions
natural, cultural and man-made attractions and in the development and
promotion of farm, river, nature and adventure tourism with particular
focus on the Cagayan River and other scenic landscapes in the region.
xii. Innovation – PAPs that exhibit novelty in implementation or service
delivery, or the solution improves an existing product, service or process
and aligned with the themes of RA No. 11293 or the Philippine
Innovation Act

The scoring values on the attribution of the proposed projects’ objectives

to each of the priority enumerated above, and the equivalent points for the total
score generated is presented in Table 3.

Table 3. Responsiveness criteria score/ point equivalent

Score Responsiveness
Attribution to each priority
2 Strongly responsive
1 Moderately responsive
0 Not responsive
Total score equivalent

Page 5 of 9
 17-18 100 points
14-16 90 points
11-13 80 points
8-10 70 points
5-7 60 points
<5 50 points

2. Urgency and Importance (25%)

Urgency refers to the need to fast track the preparation of the project
proposal’s supporting documents either in the form of FS or pre-FS which serves
as the basis for the request for implementation funding in case the project is
assessed to be financially and economically viable. The implementation urgency
of proposed projects can also be considered in case of force prioritization
involving similar project being proposed and will be evaluated and given scores
based description presented in Table 5.

Table 4. Urgency criteria point equivalent

Score Description
100 points Needs immediate implementation. Any delay may
worsen current condition or situation, or the likelihood for
the loss of life, property or livelihood
50 points Project is necessary to meet existing and emerging
concerns but any delay will not result in significant loss
of life, property and livelihood.
30 points Expansion of existing program or projects

10 points Can be postponed with no detriment to present

operations if budget cuts are necessary

3. Scope of Benefit (20%)

Scope of benefit refers to the impact and/ or significance of the project

proposal at the regional and/ or national level, with consideration on the magnitude
of the project beneficiaries and geographical/ spatial coverage. The equivalent
points for this criteria is presented in Table 4.

Page 6 of 9
 Table 5. Scope of benefit criteria point equivalent

Score Description
100 points Impacts the entire region
80 points Impacts 2 to 3 provinces
60 points Impacts one province
40 points Impacts 5 to 10 municipalities
20 points Impacts 1 city or municipality

B. Doability

1. Institutional Capability (15 percent)

Institutional capacity refers to the readiness of the proponent in terms of

availability of financial and human resources for the conduct of the study.

i. Availability of Financial Resource (10 percent)

This criteria refers to the availability of funds to shoulder the cost of the
study to include expenses for supplies and materials, hosting for the conduct of
meetings of the PDAC Project Team, and other activities related to the study. This
criteria will be evaluated based on the description provided in Table 7.

Table 7. Availability of financial resource criteria point equivalent

Score Description
100 points The project proponent can allot budget for all cost related
to the study
75 points The project proponent can allot budget for at least 75% of
the cost of the study
50 points The project proponent can allot budget for at least 50% of
the cost of the study
25 points The project proponent can allot budget for at least 25% of
the cost of the study

ii. Availability of Sector Specialists (5 percent)

Page 7 of 9
 This refers to the availability of sector specialists to form part of the Project
Team. The team will be composed of the specialists from PDAC sector focal agency
and its support agencies, and focal person/s from the project proponent. A dedicated
focal person from the proponent agency/ unit should be made available to ensure
smooth coordination with the project team. This criteria will be evaluated based on the
description presented in Table 8.

Table 8. Availability of sector specialist criteria point equivalent

Score Description
100 points 5 or more specialist available representing the agency’s
focal, support, and sector specialists and working as a
team.
50 points 3 to 4 specialist available representing the agency’s focal,
support, and sector specialists and working as a team.
20 points 2 to 3 specialist available representing the agency’s focal,
support, and sector specialists.
10 points 1 specialist available representing the agency’s focal.

2. Level of Project Preparation (10%)

Level of project preparation refers effort of proponent agencies/ units to

make available the needed data and information or any form of documentation
which serves as reference to assess the level of readiness of a project proposal.
It may range from project idea to concept note or even full blown FS which has
not been given funding support in the past due to low economic internal rate of
return (EIRR) but requires revisiting the parameters or assumptions used for the
enhancement of the study. This criteria will be evaluated based the description
presented in Table 6.

Table 6. Level of project preparation criteria point equivalent

Score Description
100 points With Feasibility Study but needs updating
50 points With Pre-Feasibility Study/ Business Case
30 points With Project concept paper
20 points Project profile
10 points Project idea

Page 8 of 9
IV. Overall Ranking

The overall ranking of priority projects which will be endorsed for PDAC
technical assistance and advisory services will be based on the total scores
generated from the evaluation done using the set of criteria discussed above. The
accumulated points will be multiplied by the corresponding weights/ percentage of
prioritization criteria presented in Table 2. Finally, projects will be ranked based on
the weighted scores.

Page 9 of 9