Republic of the Philippines

Province of Pangasinan
MUNICIPALITY OF BAYAMBANG

BAYAMBANG POVERTY REDUCTION ACTION TEAM

Bayambang Millennials’ Challenge 2021

COMPETITION GUIDELINES FOR PARTICIPATING CITIES

WELCOME TO THE BAYAMBANG MILLENNIALS’ CHALLENGE 2021

Among the different kinds of poverty, economic deprivation is the most relevant to development actors and decision-
makers in the public sector. Eric Jensen, in his book Risk Factors in Poverty, identifies six types of poverty: situational,
generational, absolute, relative, urban, and rural. Such types of poverty, for us, are undesirable, because these purport
suffering and what is suffering but essentially "an experience of evil," to go by the encyclical "Salvifici doloris."
Economic poverty may thus be viewed as a social sin or social evil, especially if it is clearly caused by such factors as
graft and corruption and bad politics.

Economic deprivation is a big question mark in any Christian community. In so many ways, economic poverty is
dehumanizing to anyone who is under this condition. In the context of Bayambang, poverty manifests into households
with no access to safe water and sanitation; people who could not afford to eat three square meals a day leading to
malnutrition and disease; lack of proper health care; students who are unable to reach college and are left to face
joblessness or underemployment and their vicious cycle of consequences; people not realizing their full potentials; a town
that is second in terms of the number of indigent households in Pangasinan; and ultimately, a town that is deprived of so
many gifts and talents.

On the psychological level, poverty is a social trauma that adversely affects individual human persons; it is a deeply
shaming condition. This means that poverty has profound effects on the psyche and by extension, on our culture – how we
see ourselves, how we relate to others, and what kind of goals, plans, and ambitions we have in life and the kind of actions
we take. This is evident in how we Filipinos in general display what they call “mendicant mentality,” a kind of attitude we
have somehow developed after centuries of colonial rule, which have been adopted as our socio political infrastructure has
evolved through time. Breaking away from the bonds of poverty therefore requires individual and cultural transformation.

The Challenge is open to all youth/ millennials residing in Bayambang aging from 15 years old to 30 years old, to enhance
their capabilities to design, and implement projects in the five key sectors of the Bayambang Poverty Reduction Action
Plan (BPRP): Socio-cultural Development and Protection, Agricultural Modernization, Environmental Protection and
Disaster Resiliency, Economic and Infrastructure Development and Good Governance.

The objective is to mainstream a planning-designing-implementation cycle complemented with workshops and mentoring.
The best project entries will be acknowledged at the end of each cycle. The cycle ends with a recognition and/or awarding
event that signals the completion of the first batch of millennials.

THE CONTEXT: INSPIRING BOLD, REPLICABLE INNOVATIONS DEVELOPED BY MILLENNIALS

Millennials are energetic, enthusiastic, proactive and innovative in providing creative solutions to our most pressing social
and economic issues and to meet the challenges of tomorrow in areas from education to public safety. But the process
requires enormous creativity, the formation of energetic partnerships, and the judicious use of data. Bayambang
Millennials’ Challenge is a competition designed to spark innovative, replicable ideas for improving barangays/
communities, and the lives of people living in them, by encouraging the millennials to think outside the box and be
innovative about how to confront the most difficult challenges.

A selection committee chaired by the Municipal Mayor, Dr. Cezar T. Quiamabo,will choose 50 finalists before selecting
10 winners and one (1) grand winner. Each winner will receive 100,000.00 pesos each and comprehensive multi-year
support to implement their innovative ideas and the grand winner will receive 300,000.00 pesos.

PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE

This document is intended to provide initial guidance to the participating millennials in the competition as they develop
and deliver their final entries for the competition. More details will follow in the form of additional supplementary
guidelines as the Bayambang Millennials’ Challenge progresses. The present document will cover preliminary
considerations on the following topics:

1. Entry categories
2. Competition Team
3. Submission requirements
4. Initial considerations/factors for judging
5. Timetable for the submission of entries
 6. Project work plan and timeline.

Entry Categories

There are five entry categories/ categories based on BPRP: Socio-cultural Development and Protection, Agricultural
Modernization, Environmental Protection and Disaster Resiliency, Economic and Infrastructure Development and Good
Governance. Millennials may pick one or more categories to submit entries to and compete in.

Socio-cultural Development and Protection

One of the goals of the Municipality of Bayambang is the enhancement of the quality of life of the local people. This
translates to the improvement of social services for the poorest and most vulnerable sectors in the locality, among others.
However, poverty cannot simply be eradicated by providing a number of services and implementing development
programs for the poor. Poverty reduction requires empowerment of poor and non-poor individuals and families. It further
entails social transformation in the long run, in which local communities are fully aware and capacitated with the needed
resources for them to become resilient in the face of various natural and man-made risks.

In the promotion of health and sanitation, quality education and physical development, peaceful and orderly community,
decent housing and food security, the Municipality emphasizes social protection and socio-cultural development. The
BPRP adopts social protection policies and programs that seek to reduce poverty and vulnerability to risks. Capitalizing
on its rich cultural heritage, the Municipality aims to preserve and utilize its cultural resources as a strategic development
thrust to guide the development process.

Agricultural Modernization
Bayambang is largely an agricultural municipality where the majority of its population is dependent on the agricultural
sector for subsistence and economic activities. Being gifted with fertile lands and hills, mighty rivers and tributaries has
benefited its inhabitants since time immemorial. The goal to eradicate poverty is therefore tantamount to declaring war
against poverty among farmers and fisherfolks who, ironically, happen to be among the poorest of the poor in
Bayambang.

Agricultural modernization is eyed to be one of the priority strategies to help solve or possibly minimize poverty.
Moreover, it is regarded as a catalyst for change, hence Bayambang will most likely remain to be an agricultural
municipality in the years to come, but a decidedly modern one. Poverty reduction in this sector requires bolstering a sense
of empowerment in Bayambang farmers and fisherfolk whose dignity is predicated on the fact that “if there is no farmer,
there is no food”. With the clamor for social transformation realized through agricultural modernization, Bayambang can
only hope for the best for the sector and the rest of the town’s constituency that depends on it.

Environmental Protection and Disaster Resiliency

Protecting the environment is an obligation that every member of the community must be keen on, especially for a town
where a large number of people turn to agriculture for a living. Without a clean and fertile environment, farmers will not
be able to produce quality crops, and fisherfolks will not have bountiful freshwater harvests. If the environment is not
taken care of, then there will be no earth for future generations to live on and all efforts in terms of social protection,
economic development, good governance, and agricultural modernization would be insignificant. Thus, environmental
protection has a critical contribution in the fight against poverty, and in nurturing community initiatives towards collective
prosperity.

Should a disaster strike Bayambang, the people should be ready enough to know what to do and where to go.
Preparedness in terms of necessary infrastructure and equipment, technical knowledge and skills, and people’s attitude can
be accomplished through proper budget allocation, training, and advocacy. Disaster prevention and mitigation through the
regulation of land developments, proper waste management, and enactment of environmental protection and conservation
policies is a major anti-poverty thrust that will ensure the safety of Bayambangueños. Reducing the environmental risks
that make individuals and communities vulnerable is an important principle in poverty reduction.

Economic and Infrastructure Development

Economy refers to the area of the production, distribution, or trade and consumption of goods and services. The local
economy of Bayambang is an aggregate of the productive forces of individuals, businesses, government, and
organizations that are contributing to the town’s major sources of revenues: agriculture, aquaculture, tourism, and
industry.

This sector focuses also on the following topics:

 Tourism
 Physical Infrastructure & Utilities
o Roads
o Bridges
o Water
o Communication Network
o Transportation
 Intra-Municipal Transportation System
 Land Transportation/ Land Transport Services
 Power

Good Governance
Governance is the exercise of political, economic and administrative authority to manage the resources of an organization.
It involves the process of decision-making and the processes by which decisions are implemented. Good governance is
pivotal in the development process. It is generally characterized by accessibility, accountability, transparency and rule of
law. It assures that corruption is minimized, views of the people from different sectors are taken into account, and the
voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making.

It is now a widely held view that good LGU administration can only operate effectively with increased transparency in the
decision-making and policy formulation process and with greater involvement of every sector of the society. It promotes
security of life, equitable access to justice and economic benefits. Good governance will be the key requisite for the next-
generation reforms. More importantly, it will serve as the main supporting mechanism for achieving a poverty-free
Bayambang.

Competition Team

A Team is required to form a competition team with Team Leader as the head. The Team could be composed of any
millennial aging from 15 years old to 30 years old residing in Bayambang. The Team is encouraged to collaborate with
the representatives from relevant barangay/ community/ town’s departments, academe, and private sector, and engage
citizen participation as this would be beneficial in developing solutions and strategies for the competition.

Submission Requirements

The Narrative Report shall consist of no more than ten A4 pages, inclusive of diagrams and single-spaced text (Century
Gothic, font size 11). The report will describe the project’s underlying process, targets and overall outcome. It must
clearly contain the project concept, rationale, features, an indicative cost estimate, a proposed financing scheme, and a
sustainability plan. Credit will be given to projects that are able to discuss performance in use. All participants must
follow the attached format of the narrative report (see attached form).

The Narrative Report must clearly state the name of the community/ barangay and its competition focus sector/s.

The Narrative Report must be submitted as a PDF electronic file.

Initial Considerations/Factors for Judging

All entries for each competition will be judged based on their consideration and realization of the four (4) broad categories
enumerated below:

✔ Ideas should be bold, creative, and, importantly, should tackle the most pressing issues facing
your barangay/ community today.

✔ Winning ideas must have the potential to spread to, and succeed in, other barangays/
communities. Issues addressed should be timely, relevant, and should address problems faced by
other barangays/ communities.

✔ Though implementation plans may not be fully developed, the team must demonstrate their
commitment and a viable path to bringing their ideas to life. This includes garnering support from
citizens and key stakeholders.

✔ In order to be successful, ideas should have the potential to significantly improve citizens’ lives.

Timetable for the submission of entries

Entries must be submitted in both hard and soft copies to the Bayambang Millennials’ Challenge Secretariat, with address
at 2F Municipal Annex Building, Zone II, Bayambang, Pangasinan, Philippines and email addresses
abalosj@bayambanggov.onmicrosoft.com and salosagcolfl@bayambanggov.onmicrosoft.com , not later than November
19, 2021. Entries submitted after this date will automatically be disqualified from the competition.

The following are the significant dates for the Bayambang Millennials’ Challenge (Design Phase):

10 AUGUST 2021
COMPETITION LAUNCH
Millennials presently residing at Bayambang, Pangasinan, Philippines
are invited to join the Bayambang Millennials’ Challenge 2021.
The first 200 millennial teams to RSVP will receive
additional expert support from
Bayambang Poverty Reduction Action Team (BPRAT)
to prepare the proposals.

19 NOVEMBER 2021
SUBMIT YOUR IDEA

20 DECEMBER 2021
FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
The 50 teams with 50 best ideas
 will advance in the competition.

JANUARY- 07 MARCH 2022

STRENGTHEN YOUR IDEA
50 champions teams will receive
expert support to improve the idea

28 MARCH 2022
RESUBMIT YOUR PROPOSAL
Champion Teams resubmit their improved applications
to compete for the final round

08 APRIL 2022
WINNERS ANNOUNCED
10 Winners will receive Php 100,000.00 each and
1 Grand Winner will receive Php 300,000.00
in prize money to bring their ideas to life

APRIL 2022- DECEMBER 2022

IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT
Winners receive expert support to implement
and spread their winning idea to other
barangays/ communities.

6. Project work plan and timeline.

2021 2022
ACTIVITY
AUG NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR DEC

Launching of the Aug.

competition. 10,
2021
Submission of the Nov.
ideas. 19,
2021
Announcement of Dec.
the finalists.
20,
2021
Improving and Jan. Mar.
strengthening 2022 07,
ideas. 2021
Resubmission of Mar.
proposals. 28,
2022
Announcement of Apr.
the winners. 08,
2022
Implementation
Apr. Dec.
support for the
2022 2022
winning ideas.

DECLARATIONS

Each submission must be accompanied by signed consent/ commitment from the Punong Barangay or Head of the
community. Participating teams will be furnished with the relevant templates of the forms through subsequent
supplementary guidelines.
Note: Final submissions, shall be accompanied by the forms in hard and soft copies

CONTACT

For questions and clarifications, you may contact MR. JOHNSON ABALOS, Local Youth Development Officer I,
through:
CP # : 09474575319
email : abalosj@bayambang.gov.ph