Mr. Francesco Abbate, an independent consultant, has been commissioned by the European Commission (EC) to assess all projects under the International Trade Centre Asia Trust Fund (ATF).  He is in town right now to assess the two ATF-funded projects in the Philippines, one of which is the Philippine Services Coalition.

Caption:  Assistant Director Jason Lao of BETP lists the steps the project proponents undertook prior to submitting the project proposal in 2005.

Mr. Abbate and his assistant, Ms. Cristina Crivui, had a series of meetings with the DFA/OUIER, the Bureau of Export Trade Promotion (BETP), and the Philexport (as the project proponents) and some PSC Steering Committee members and Export Champions (as representatives of the private sector stakeholders).

Caption:  OUIER Executive Director Ms. Marilyn Alarilla, ATF Evaluator Mr. Francesco Abbate, and Ms. Cristina Crivui pay attention as Atty. Ma. Rosario Franco, National Project Coordinator of the project, emphasizes a point during the evaluation meeting.

The purpose of the evaluation/review is to assess how much the ATF has contributed to the efforts of developing countries integrate into the world economy.