AND if the progress further matures, the City will be among a handful of local government units (LGUs) where people’s participation in local governance, through the organized sectoral and territorial civil society organizations (CSOs), contribute much to the LGU’s responsive, inclusive, transparent, accountable, sustainable and resilient development course.
Naga City in Bicol, the hometown of its late mayor and former Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary Jessie Robredo; Tanay, Rizal; Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, and Quezon City in National Capital Region (NCR) are the few if not the only LGUs in the country where CSOs participation in local governance is no longer a lip service nor a mere embellishment in politicians gameplan but is already institutionalized and contribute effectively in pushing people’s concerns and interests.
In these LGUs, CSOs and development non-government organizations (NGOs) are well represented and doing quite well in the Local Development Council (CDC) and Local Special Bodies (LSBs) as provided in the Local Government Code of (LGC) 1991.
What is even more laudable is the fact that their representation and participation do not depend on the benevolence of the incumbent LGU officials nor in the CSOs strong lobby and pressures only, but well protected and guaranteed through an ordinance, such as the Empowerment Ordinance in Naga and Quezon City.
Officials in these LGUs have demonstrated their responsiveness to the challenge of LGC, of realizing one of the most important goals of the 1987 Constitution, the strengthening of people’s direct participation in governance.
Bacolod City under the incumbent Mayor Leonardia has another unique experience and contribution to the strengthening of people’s participation in local governance. Even without yet the CSOs ordinance as in four LGUs, nor the CSOs desk as mandated by DILG, Mayor Leonardia’s thrust and priority programs are truly strengthening the people’s participation.
To ensure the effective functionality of the City Development Council and LSBs, Mayor Bing has set up the City Mayor’s Sectoral Concerns Office (CMO-SCO) to provide necessary capacity development for CSOs and NGOs in said mandated bodies so they would be effective in their participation in major decision making, planning and budgeting, and identification of development programs and projects for the sectors and communities.
CMO-SCO chief executive assistant III Ernie Pineda and the CDC vice-chairperson executive assistant George Zulueta, have been giving their best efforts to ensure that not only the councilors and their priority barangays get projects and services, but that the sectoral organizations, including MSMEs get adequate share in the City’s development fund for their own sustainable projects and enterprises.
More than assistance to CDC and LSBs, the CMO-SCO has also been undertaking organizing and networking and accreditation of CSOs, conducting leadership and values formation, facilitating their immediate relief needs caused by pandemic and as well as enterprises and livelihoods for their sustainability and resiliency, and more recently, undertaking the organizing of city chapter of People’s Council for Change (PCC), a national coalition of CSOs and NGOs and pioneer advocacy partner of DILG-BK PMO, advancing participatory and public interest-oriented governance.
To date, the City has accredited 130 or more registered or legitimate CSOs and NGOs, the ongoing networking organizing federating and assisting more CSOs and NGOs to get accredited and receive basic services from the city. These include practically all basic sectors, workers, fishers, farmers, vendors, transport, women, youth, cultural artists, MSMEs, and the special sectors as well like the PWDs, senior citizens, LGBT, entertainment subsectors, and no less, the motorcycle riders clubs, force multipliers and the cyclist groups.
The 20-25 percent of sectoral organizations in the CDC and LSBs represent almost two dozens federations of sectoral and subsectoral organizations, painstakingly organized by the CMO-SCO, now well placed in strategic barangays of the city, and are actively participating in various government-led community projects and activities.
Despite the limitations of the LGC on the number of representation of CSOs and NGOs in the CDC and LSBs, Mayor Leonardia, Vice Mayor Familiaran, CDC vice chair EA Zulueta, and focal persons of CMO-SCO have been trying their best to accommodate as many CSOs and NGOs in the CDC and LSBs and in other legal mans and forms purposely to expand the democratic base of governance.
My former boss in DILG retired USEC Austere Panadero once said that realizing participatory governance is the key to change and development. He clarified repeatedly that it does not only depend on existing legislations and memoranda, but on the firm belief in the essential spirit of the 1987 Constitution which has enough for people power spirit, and no less, on the sincerity, commitment and political will of the LGU officials to truly make substantive and meaningful local change for lasting people’s development.
For this, I sincerely commend DILG and the people -- Bacolod City under Mayor Leonardia and Vice Mayor Elcid -- for their resolute spirit in truly advancing participatory governance and public interests.
May the force be with you!