1. U.S. PEACE CORPS MANILA, PHILIPPINES
6/F PNB Financial Center, Macapagal Ave., Pasay City 1308 Philippines
P.O Box 7013 Airmail Exchange Office, NAIA, Pasay City 1301 Philippines
Tel: (632) 833.6420 * Fax: (632) 833.6425 * Email: info@ph.peacecorps.gov
Description of Service
Alejandra X. Silva
Republic of the Philippines 2013-2015
Application Process
Ms. Silva began the Peace Corps application process during the fall of her senior year at University of California, Santa
Cruz. The application involved submission of personal statements, transcripts, resume, recommendations and an
interview. In March 2013 Peace Corps invited Ms. Silva to serve as a Coastal Resource Management (CRM) Volunteer
in the Philippines.
Pre- Service Training
On July 8th
, 2013 Ms. Silva began a comprehensive 10.5 week pre-service training (PST) in the municipality of Morong,
a small coastal town in the province of Bataan. The training involved language classes in Tagalog, technical skills
training necessary for working in CRM, Filipino culture and Philippine general information preparation, safety and
security and medical training. Throughout the training, Ms. Silva partnered with other trainees to produce a Coastal
Environmental Profile (CEP) of the barangay Mabayo. The CEP entailed geographical dynamics, status of local
commerce, community demographics, fish catch trends and current issues based on community perception surveys,
bio-physical assessment results, current management schemes and recommendations. As part of the training, Ms.
Silva assisted in the research, field work and presentation of the CEP to local government officials. The fieldwork
required to produce the CEP equipped her with the basic knowledge and skills for working in the CRM field.
The details of pre-service training include:
I. Tagalog Language: 170 hours; Intermediate – Mid Competency Level
II. Technical Sessions: 156 hours
 History and applications of coastal resource management in the Philippines
 Fisheries and habitat management strategies
 Participatory Coastal Resource Assessment (PCRA)
 Habitat Assessments – Mangroves, Sea grass and coral
 Fish Identification and Fish Visual Census
 Environmental Education via Youth Camp practicum
 Coastal Resource Management Planning
III. Safety and Security Preparedness: 28 hours
IV. Health Training and Preparedness: 40 hours
V. Culture and Philippines General Info : 24 hours
Assignment
September 18th
2013 marked the day when Ms. Silva was sworn in as a U.S Peace Corps Volunteer. She was assigned
to live and work in the municipality of Zamboanguita, Negros Oriental, located in the central Visayas region of the
Philippines.
Coastal Resource Management:
Ms. Silva was assigned to work with the Municipal Environment and Natural Resource Office (MENRO) in the Local
Government Unit (LGU) of Zamboanguita. Initially working with a local counterpart, Ms. Silva and the MENRO were
able to work together with the Provincial Environment and Natural Resource Division (ENRD) towards updating their

2. municipal CRM program. She was involved in conducting the Marine Protected Area Management Evaluation
Assessment Tool (MEAT), a national tool developed by the Coral Triangle Program of the Philippines Government, on
the two MPAs in Zamboanguita in order to identify the direction of management improvement. From this
participatory assessment tool, she created a report from the results that ranked the MPAs in management levels. In
both MPAs, annual monitoring and evaluation scored as the lowest management categories. Following the MEAT,
updating the Coastal Environmental Profile (CEP) of Zamboanguita was one of the first projects Ms. Silva focused on.
In collaboration with the ENRD, Ms. Silva was able to assist in the Participatory Coastal Resource Assessment which
involved training locals in basic habitat assessments and collecting socio-demographic information from interviews
with fisher folk. Ms. Silva supported her local counterpart in finishing the CEP as the output of the PCRA. Aside from
CRM planning activities with the MENRO, Ms. Silva aided in basic fisheries services like fisher folk registration, re-
establishment of the Municipal Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Council (MFARMC), and organizing
fisher folk associations. During her service she and her local counterpart were trained in Project Design and
Management (PDM) at a Peace Corps function. The training qualified her to apply for grants. She took the training
and knowledge to the next level by bringing it back to her community in Zamboanguita. She conducted a PDM
workshop for the MFARMC council, which trained the local leaders in project proposal writing, planning and
implementation.
Throughout her service, Ms. Silva conducted on-going IECs on the Philippines Coastal Ecosystems, MPAs and Solid
Waste Management in public schools of Zamboanguita, reaching up to 500 students. She also acted as a resource
person for various other community based organizations like the Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program and Barangay
Population Development Officers, raising further awareness about the Philippines environment to the broader public.
Ms. Silva also built partnerships among local leaders in order to implement further CRM projects. She worked with
the Barangay Council and fisher folk association of Barangay Poblacion towards establishing an MPA. She advised and
guided the MPA core group with the planning, budget, resolution writing and installation of boundary buoys for the
MPA. As a result of her efforts and support, a third MPA was established in Zamboanguita.
One of the two grant projects Ms. Silva implemented during her service was the establishment and training a local
monitoring and evaluation team. Based on the MEAT results identified at the beginning of her service, she decided to
focus on monitoring and evaluation in the MPAs. Ms. Silva worked with the ENRD, MENRO and local fisher folk
associations to implement a five-day training on participatory habitat assessment methods. Six volunteers from the
MPA sites and one MENRO representative were trained. The training was comprehensive and hands-on, and aimed
to increase the involvement of the local fisher folk in the management and maintenance of their MPAs by initiating
an annual monitoring team.
Secondary Activities:
Ms. Silva worked with the district Department of Education (DepED) on several secondary projects, one of which
became her second grant project at site. She worked closely with the Zamboanguita Science High School to organize
an Earth Club. Throughout the school year she created environmental education lesson plans for monthly meetings,
planned experiential learning field trips and initiated two club projects. Inspired by the enthusiasm from club
members to share their knowledge about the Philippines Coastal Ecosystems with others, Ms. Silva led a three-day
training and planning workshop on environmental education and leadership skills for 25 of the Earth Club members.
After the training, the high school Earth Club members facilitated environmental day camps at six public elementary
schools reaching up to 300 children. For the last phase of the project the Earth Club members painted a mural about
the coastal ecosystems on a building at the district DepED office. To maintain the sustainability and future projects of
the Earth Club, Ms. Silva and the teacher advisers engaged in a partnership with the local NGO, Marine Conservation
Philippines who plan to assist with on-going club activities.
In addition to working with the science high school Earth Club, Ms. Silva supported the DepED sports program. She
helped to coach the Zamboanguita Swim Team for two seasons as they prepared for the annual Negros Oriental
Athletic Association competition.

3. Ms. Silva networked with two local NGOs to implement summer camp projects within her service. Her first summer
in service, she worked with the NGO EcoFish and fellow CRM PCVs in conducting Ocean Week day camps in four
municipalities for high school age youth. The next summer she worked with another NGO, Pederasyon sa
Nagkahiusang mga Mag-uuma nga Nanalipud ug Nagpasig-uli sa Kinaiyahan Inc or PENAMANNAKI, and partner PCV
to implement a Girls Leading Our World (GLOW) camp for 30 high school age Filipinas. The four-day GLOW camp
focused on five themes: leadership skills, college and career paths, alternative livelihoods, environment and women’s
health.
One area of work Ms. Silva spent a significant amount of time and effort with was a livelihood project inspired by the
talents displayed in a group of local women from a fisher folk community. She worked with a group of women
towards identifying a handy craft product made from recyclable materials, organizing a skills training workshop,
creating their group by-laws and vision and registering the group with the Department of Labor and Employment.
She played a crucial role in their start- up process, but due to internal issues amongst group members, this project
was not her main focus at site.
Ms. Silva was part of Peace Corps Philippines training of trainers program during PST 2014. She worked as a Resource
Volunteer and led sessions and field practicums on the Participatory Coastal Resource Assessment for the trainees of
batch 237. Not only did Ms. Silva assist the Peace Corps Philippines training program, she also helped staff identify
potential placement sites for incoming PCVs by conducting five site assessment reports.
Language Skills:
During Ms. Silva’s PST in 2013 she studied Tagalog, the national language, for two and half months. She lived with a
Tagalog speaking host family for the duration of the training and received a score of intermediate mid for Tagalog on
the Language Proficiency Interview (LPI) taken at the end of PST. Once at her permanent site, Ms. Silva focused on
learning a new dialect, Cebuano. She elected to stay with her host family for the entirety of her service in order to
facilitate the on-going learning process. The first time she was tested in Cebuano was six months into service, and she
received a score of intermediate high on the LPI. At the half way point, she was tested again and improved her score
receiving an advanced low score on the LPI. By the end of her service she reached the advanced mid-level in the LPI,
proving her steady progress and dedication to language over the duration of her two-year service.
Ms. Silva completed her Peace Corps Service in the Philippines on September 18th
, 2015.
Pursuant to section 5(f) of the Peace Corps Act 22 U.S.C. 2504 (f) as amended, any former volunteer employed by the
United States Government following her Peace Corps Volunteer service is entitled to have any period of satisfactory
Peace Corps Volunteer service credited for purposes of retirement, seniority, reduction in force, leave and other
privileges based on length of federal government service. Peace Corps service shall not be credited toward
completion of the probationary or trial period or completion of any service requirement for career appointment.
This is to certify that in accordance with Executive Order No. 11103 of 10 April 1963 that Alejandra X. Silva served
satisfactorily as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Her service in the Philippines ended on September 18th
, 2015. She is
therefore eligible to be appointed as a career-conditional employee in the competitive civil service on a non-
competitive basis. This benefit under the Executive Order entitlement extends for a period of one year after
termination of the Volunteer’s service, except that the employing agency may extend that period for up to three
years for a former Volunteer who enters military service, pursues studies at a recognized institution of higher
learning, or engages in other activities that, in the review of appointing authority, warrant extension of the period.
JEAN E. SEIGLE
Country Director
Peace Corps Philippines