After 9 months attending the PCAsia Fiscal Analysis Capacity Training (FACT) Programme, 11 trainees were awarded with certificates for their successful completion and commitment.
The Parliamentary Centre of Asia (PCAsia) Fiscal Analysis Capacity Training Programme (FACT) to Assess Health Emergency Responses was delivered from March to November 2023. The programme aimed to improve the capacity of participating parliamentary staff in performing fiscal analysis-related tasks in support of the oversight functions of their Parliaments, particularly during health emergency preparedness and responses. There are 11 participants including 5 from the Senate and the National Assembly of Cambodia, 1 from the House of Representatives of Thailand, 4 from the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia, and 1 from the House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines.
On 12 January 2024,PCAsia organised a Closing and Certificate Handover Ceremony face-to-face in Phnom Penh, with some attendees joining online. The representatives at the event were His Excellency Mr PRUM Virak, General Director from the National Assembly of Cambodia, Mr Inosentius Samsul, Head of the Parliamentary Expertise Agency from the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia, His Excellency S. Velasco, Secretary General from the House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines, Her Excellency Steejit TAIPIBOONSUK, Deputy Secretary General from the House of Representatives of Thailand, and Mr Pandu Mario Dewono, Deputy Director of PCAsia.
During the event, His Excellency Mr PRUM Virak, General Director of the National Assembly ofCambodia, remarked on the achievements of the FACT programme. He highlighted how “PCAsia has played its significant role as key development partner whose mission is to leverage the parliamentary officials’ capacity within the AIPA context.” He continued by outlining the importance and relevance of the FACT programme, noting that within AIPA Member Parliaments “budget and fiscal analysis skills are in high demand to ensure that policy-level decisions on budget and fiscal management can maintain socio-economic balance to alleviate the burden during emergencies with accurate, effective and efficient fiscal assessment.”
During a presentation by Dr CHHUOR Sryneath, PCAsia’s FACT Programme Manager, she highlighted the key activities, achievements, outcomes and lessons learnt from the FACT Programme along with a short video showing activities throughout the programme, including the visit to the National Assembly and the Sente of Cambodia and the face-to-face study mission which helped expose participants to the practical experiences of PBOs in the region. Representatives of trainees from each country also remarked on the programme. Ms MARIHOT NASUTION, representing trainees from the House of Representatives of Indonesia, noted that “the things we learned from this training are very useful for our day-to-day work”. Mr JOHN PAUL S. QUIETA, from the House of Representatives of the Philippines, emphasied that the training curriculum was “well designed in terms of the selected topics and the sequencing of each subject. The course was very comprehensive, covering a wide range of topics from macroeconomics, budgeting, finance and costing exercises, among others.” Ms MOM Chenda from the Senate of Cambodia expressed her view that “I learned a lot over this nine-month course. The skills we obtained in the specialized courses on budget responses in both normal and emergency conditions are highly applicable to PBO-related work, giving solid conceptual knowledge and methodologies for addressing the issues linked to state budget analysis in various scenarios.” Mr PHUBET SENBUT, from the House of Representatives of Thailand, shared his feeling of accomplished for successfully completing the programme – “Being here today, I feel a rush of emotions. We made it! We climbed this mountain of knowledge together, and now we stand on the peak, ready to use what we’ve learned to help Southeast Asia.”
