Highlights Newsletter of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines
October 03 to December 15, 2014
ULAP Organizes Good Governance Dialogues Nationwide, Promotes Open Government Partnership and Good Governance Reforms A series of regional forum entitled “Good Governance Dialogues” was conducted all over the country by the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, in partnership with the Office of the President, Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Philippine Open Government Partnership (Phl-OGP) Steering Committee, the United States Agency for International Development-Facilitating Public Investment (USAIDFPI) from September to November 2014. The Good Governance Dialogues Regional Forum is a two-day forum which aims to promote the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and Good Governance Cluster initiatives primarily on budget reforms and fiscal transparency. OGP is an international platform established in 2011, with the Philippines as one of the founding members that aim to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, accountability, citizen’s participation, and harness new technologies to strengthen good governance. Five regional runs of the forum which covered different regional clusters were conducted on the following dates and venue:
September 2-3, 2014 at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Ortigas Avenue Pasig City for NCR, Central and Southern Luzon Regional Cluster (Regions 3, 4A, 4B, 5 and NCR); October 16-17, 2014 at Crown Regency Hotel, Cebu City for Visayas Regional Cluster (Regions 7, 7 and 8); October 23-24, 2014 at Limketkai Luxe Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City for Northern Mindanao Regional Cluster (Regions 9, 10 and CARAGA); November 6-7, 2014 at Pinnacle Hotel and Suites, Davao City for Southern Mindanao Regional Cluster (Regions 11, 12 and ARMM); and
Newsletter of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines November 13-14, 2014 at Citylight Hotel, Baguio City for Northern Luzon Regional Cluster (Regions 1, 2 and CAR).
and implement Public Expenditure Management in the national and local level.
The Good Governance Dialogues Regional Forum also provided an avenue for action planning among LGUs and local CSOs to co-create the next OGP Country Action Plan and localize the OGP commitments. It has brought together national government agencies, local governments, civil society organizations, business groups, academe, international development partners and national and local media to discuss reforms on open governance and fiscal transparency.
Secretary Mar Roxas, on the other hand, presented the reforms instituted in local governance. He also encouraged the present local government officials on their significant role to continue and sustain the reforms on good governance. He emphasized that the local governments are the “wheel that hits the road� to ensure that reforms instituted by the national government will be felt and delivered down to the people at the local level.
A total of 2291 participants attended the five regional fora. Almost 800 of these participants are from the Local Government Units. 183 are from the Provincial Governments (Governors, Vice Governors and Board Members) while 408 are from the City and Municipal Governments (Mayors, Vice Mayors and Councilors). Representatives from the ULAP National Executive Board members were also present in each of the forum. Among the guests in the regional forum include: DBM Secretary Florencio Abad, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas, USAID Mission Director Gloria Steele, USAID Mission Economist Stephen Andoseh, and USAID-DAI Chief of Party William Gardner. During the forum DBM Secretary Abad presented the budget reforms and priorities that the current administration has implemented in line with fiscal transparency. He also highlighted how the national government achieved its growth over the past four years with the help of the budget reforms specially the Bottom Up Budget (BUB; also known as Grassroots Participatory Budgeting), a program which was recognized and won a Gold Award at the First Open Government Award from OGP. Secretary Abad openly engaged with the participants from LGUs and local CSOs to answer questions about the national budget, priorities and the current implementation of BUB. He also gave clarifications on the processes of how to develop
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As a response to the general objectives of the Good Governance Dialogues, USAID Mission Director Gloria Steele, Mission Director and Mission Economist Stephen Andoseh delivered their message of support to the initiative of the Phil-OGP Steering Committee to localize the Open Government Partnership commitments. Different sessions and workshops were also facilitated to provide inputs to the participants. These include the breakout sessions on ZBB studies for budget reforms and two Talakayan sessions on good governance. On the first day of the forum, the breakout sessions mainly focused on ZeroBased Budgeting (ZBB) Approach. ZBB is currently practiced by DBM and other departments and government entities in formulating their annual budget. The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) facilitated the simultaneous ZBB breakout sessions which include the topics on: Agriculture and Reforestation Program, Programs of State Universities and Colleges, Employment Generation in the Private Sector, Household Electrification Program and Quick Response Funds. On the second day of the forum, two separate Talakayan sessions were organized to discuss how good governance are can done and achieved at the national and local level. The Talakayan sessions were:
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(1) NGA Talakayan which provides an overview of reforms for transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement, particularly those that are committed in the international platform of OGP. It also assesses how the Philippines fared in its journey to promoting good governance both from the perspective of government and non-government champions. The panelists per forum are invited based on a particular theme per regional venue which Open Government Opportunities and Challenges (NCR), Good Governance is Good Economics (Cebu), Promoting Citizen Engagement and Access to Information (Cagayan de Oro), Sustaining Good Governance Reforms (Davao), and Open Government Leads to Access to Justice (Baguio). Prominent secretaries and national government officials were present as guest speakers and panelist for the NGA Talakayan Sessions the forum whom include: (NCR Regional Venue) Commission on Audit Chair Grace Pulido Tan, DILG Undersecretary Austere Panadero, DBM Undersecretary. Richard Moya, Prof. Solita Monsod and Makati Business Club Chair Peter Perfecto. (Cebu Regional Venue) Bureau of Customs Comm. John Phillip Sevilla, Bureau of Internal Revenue Deputy Comm. Lilia Guillermo, and Securities and Exchange Commission General Counsel Camilo Correa.
(Cagayan de Oro Regional Venue) DSWD Assistant Sec. Camilo Gudmalin, DBM Undersecretary Richard Moya, DBM Assistant Sec. Maxine Tanya Hamada, and National Anti-Poverty Commission Representative Marie Labajo ( D a v a o Regional Venue) Department of Tourism Sec. Ramon Jimenez, DBM Undersecretary Richard Moya, and CODE-NGO Executive Director Pat Sarenas. (Baguio Regional Venue) COA Comm. Heidi Mendoza, National Council of Indigenous Peoples Comm. Zenaida Brigada Hamada-Pawid, and Ombudsman Atty. Rafael Hipolito. (2) LGU Talakayan, guided by the theme “Ang LGUng Magaling, May Nararating,� which features commendable good governance practices of local governments as shared by the local chief executives. It also probes on the challenges faced in implementing local reforms and how these practices can be replicated by other local governments. Selected Local Chief Executives and Legislatives who were part of the guest speakers/panelists for the LGU Talakayan session include: (NCR Regional Venue) ULAP President and Oriental Mindoro Governor Alfonso Umali Jr, Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla, Carmona (Cavite) Mayor Dahlia Loyola, Balanga City Mayor Joet Garcia, and Marikina Mayor Del de Guzman. (Cebu Regional Venue) Bohol Governor Edgardo Chatto, Anilao (Iloilo) Mayor Maria Teresa Debuque, Jagna (Bohol) Mayor Fortunato Abrenilla, Himamaylan City Mayor Agustin Ernesto Bascon, and Tuburan (Cebu) Mayor Democrito Diamante. (Cagayan de Oro Regional Venue) Lanao del Norte Vice Governor Cristy Atay, Dipolog City Mayor Evelyn Uy, NMYL President and Bayugan City Councilor Kirk Asis, and Gingoog City Councilor Melleanette Mercado. (Davao Regional Venue) South Cotabato Governor Daisy Avance-Fuentes, Tubod (Surigao del Norte)
Newsletter of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines Mayor Cristina Hemady Arcillas, Tacurong City Mayor Lina Montilla, and Upi (Maguindanao) Mayor Ramon Piang, Jr. (Baguio Regional Venue) Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan, Nueva Vizcaya Governor Ruth Padilla, Dagupan City Mayor Belen Fernandez, and San Nicolas (Ilocos Norte) Mayor Melanie Grace Valdez. Moreover, as one of the major objectives of the forum, the organizers also facilitated the discussion and co-creation of the OGP Action Plan between the LGUs, CSOs and NGAs. The overview of the action plan was presented by INCITEGov Executive Director Nathalie Christine Jorge. The participants were eventually divided per region for a workshop to come up with local OGP commitments which can be implemented based on the needs of their respective localities. The ceremonial turn-over of the cocreated OGP Action Plans with their regional LGU and CSO representatives was also done to synthesize the workshop. The Action Plans will also be used by the national Phl-OGP SteerCom to craft the OGP Country Action Plan for next year. Finally, the signing of the participants of their pledge to the commitments of the Open Government Partnership ended the regional forum.
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Innovative Solutions to OGP Presented to LGUs As an immediate follow through to the Good Governance Dialogues Regional Forum, ULAP in partnership with the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PHL-OGP) Steering Committee, Galing Pook Foundation, Sanofi Philippines, Microsoft Philippines, PLDT Alpha Enterprise, Open Data Philippines-DBM, Ayala Foundation, Civika Foundation, and Access Health International - Philippines, conducted another regional forum tagged,“Innovative Solutions on Open Government Partnerships” last November 28 and December 4. The two regional fora were held at Sanofi Aventis Philippines office, Makati City on November 28 which was attended by over 150 participants from Luzon LGUs; and the Cebu Grand Convention Center, Cebu City on December 4 which was attended by around 60 Visayas and Mindanao LGU participants. The Innovative Solutions to Open Government Partnership was conducted with the aim of framing and explaining innovations in local governments aligned with international OGP practices and network LGUs with partners who may provide programs and partnerships for Open Government. During the event, technical assistance on technologybased solutions were presented by the project partners to the LGUs. This has provided opportunity for the LGUs to have a hands-on experience on the solutions which they can feasibly utilize and implement in their respective offices. LGUs were also able to gain understanding on the technology-based innovations that can help them realize transparent and accountable government and more so, deliver responsive, effective and efficient public services to their constituents. ULAP President Governor Alfonso Umali, Jr., delivered the opening remarks of the regional forum and gave emphasis on the importance of making “innovative solutions” to localize OGP and improve their capacities in delivering effective and efficient social services. Governor Victor Yap who was present during the ISOGP Makati Leg and Vice Governor Humerlito Dolor who was in ISOGP Cebu leg, read the message of support of the Galing Pook Foundation. Other members of the ULAP National Executive Board member also attended the event. Executive Director Ms. Czarina Medina-Guce gave an overview of OGP and the objectives of the networking forum. In her presentation, she also categorized the projects
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and programs presented to the LGUs under the three objectives: 1. The first group of projects and programs are for capacity improvement of the LGUs, specifically developing their systems to be more effective and efficient. These are the Microsoft Citynext Partners (Office 365 from PLDT Alpha, Geographical Information System & Document Management System for Paperless Trail, Office 365 & Microsoft Azure of Ng Khai Development Corporation and Hospital Information System of Bizbox) and Civika Foundation’s Open Govenance Tech Innovation Voucher. 2. The second projects and programs are intended to improve the LGU’s capacity in data generation and evidenceinformed policy making (EIPM). These are from Microgenesis’ STEE Public Safety and Emergency Management System (STEE), 311 Citizen Services (Avepoint) and Social Media Monitoring (Signal) and Open Data Philippines (OPS, DBM, PCDSPO). 3. The last set of projects and programs are for the improvement of LGUs’ social services delivery for education and health. These projects are the Text2Teach from Ayala Foundation and e-Aksyon para sa Kalusugang Pangkalahatan (e-AKaP) from Access Health International-Philippines. LGUs present during the event were able to gain “innovative solutions” through possible projects presented by the different partners based on the needs they have identified for their respective areas. ULAP will continue working with the project partners to monitor and pursue partnerships as initially identified in the events.
Newsletter of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines
Galing Pook’s Executive Director formally appointed as LGU representative PhilHealth Board of Director Dr. Eddie Dorotan, the Executive Director of the Galing Pook Foundation, was officially appointed as member of the PhilHealth Board of Directors, upon endorsement of ULAP and the major member leagues, and approval of President Benigno Aquino III. Dr. Dorotan will be the official representative of the local governments in the on-going discussions with PhilHealth, together with Tarlac Governor Victor A. Yap, who currently sits in the Board of Directors as an LGUelected representative on an observer status. Dr. Dorotan’s term of office is effective starting July 1, 2014 and will end on June 30, 2015. The appointment of Dr. Dorotan will strengthen the advocacy of ULAP and local government units in pushing for policies geared towards the development and support of local health governance.
162 to 52 Health Coalition Re-strategizes for the next win The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines together with the other lead conveners and members of the 162 to 52 Coalition -- Zuellig Family Foundation, Sanofi Aventis, ACCESS Health International Philippines, Commission for Population, DOH-BLHD, PhilHealth and Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health/AHEALS -- conducted a series of strategy workshops to discuss opportunities and strategies of the Coalition for moving forward in between August to December, 2014. To cap the result of the previous workshops, the Coalition conveners and members convened again for coalition alignment workshop last December 11 at Sanofi Aventis Office, Makati City. During the alignment workshop, the conveners and members of the coalition were able
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DILG Secretary Roxas presents Disaster Preparedness Manual to ULAP NEB The National Executive Board of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines through the invitation of the DILG attended the presentation of the Disaster Preparedness Manual and Guidelines on October 30, 2014 at DILG office. DILG Secretary Mar Roxas presented the said manual and guidelines to ULAP NEB, including its features and how it will work for the LGUs when a disaster strikes. The members of the NEB are also to provide inputs and suggestions to improve the manual. Also present during the event were DILG Undersectary Austere Panadero and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Executive Director Undersecretary Alexander Pama, and representatives from DOST, Project NOAH, DSWD and other national agencies. Members of the ULAP NEB who attended the event were Governor Alfonso Umali Jr. (President), Mayor Sandy Javier (Vice Chairman), Mayor Herbert Bautista (Executive Vice President), BM Atty. Edmund Abesamis (Secretary General), Councilor Kirk Asis (Assistant Secretary General), Board Member Myrna Romarate (Assistant Auditor), Councilor Maybelyn Dela Cruz- Fernandez (PRO) and Board Member Jose Enrique Miraflores (Assistant Liaison Officer).
to finalize their commitments and initial workplan of the Coalition. Present during the meeting were representatives from ULAP, DOH-BLHD, PhilHealth, ZFF, Access Health International, Sanofi Aventis and Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health/AHEALS. 162 to 52 Coalition for Accelerating Collective Impact for Maternal and Child Health was conceptualized and created as a result of the Third Philippine Health Outlook Forum, which was held on December 13, 2011 and formally organized in 2012. The Department of Health through the Bureau of Local Health Development partnered with the Forum conveners to organize the coalition that intends
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to speed up the process, and pursue strategic and urgent responses to the challenge of attaining the maternal and child health targets by developing local health systems. Among the lead conveners are: Philippine Health Insurance Corporation; League of Provinces of the Philippines; Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines; Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan, Zuellig Family Foundation; Philippine Business for Social Progress; Ayala TBI/ACCESS Health Philippines; and Sanofi-Aventis Philippines. Within the last three years of coalitions’ existence, it was able to achieve great strides especially in the areas of improving health service delivery, pushing for policy agenda on health and greater impact on advocacies on Health Leadership Governance among LGUs. The Coalition’s framework of action was pegged through collective impact of lead conveners’ and partners’ projects and programs using the local governance approach of leadership-supplydemand. Some of its accomplishments are conduct of Policy Workshops and Health Summits like 162 to 52 Health Summit: Accelerating Impact on Maternal and Child Health, Maternal and Child Summit and Communicating Health: Policies and Partnerships, and Policy Advocacy and Representations.
ASEAN Forum tackles the Role of Local Governments ULAP in collaboration with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) through its training arm, the Local Government Academy (LGA) has been one of the co-organizers of the recently conducted forum on “ASEAN Economic Integration: The Role of Local Governments’ held on Oct 10-11, 2014 at the Heritage Hotel, Manila. The forum was an initiative in collaboration with the ULAP’s member leagues – League of Provinces, League of Cities, and League of Municipalities; concerned national government agencies such as Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Tourism, Department of Trade and Industry, National Economic and Development Authority; and other partners such as the Philippine Chamber of Commerce, and the Local Government Support Program for Local Economic Development (LGSP-LED. The forum was mainly organized with the aim of accelerating the awareness of local chief executives on how the regional economic integration will work and how this will affect local governments in preparation for the coming regional economic integration in 2015. During the forum, ULAP President Governor Alfonso Umali, Jr. gave an opening remarks for which emphasized the vital role that LGUs play towards achieving a highly competitive, equitable and resilient economic region, ready to be fully integrated into the global economy. He also encouraged the local governments present to continue harmonizing its efforts with the national government and partnerships with the local industries to prepare the local economies for the possible impact of the ASEAN integration. Also, ULAP as one of the co-organizers, managed the breakout session on “Sharing of Initiatives on the State of AEC Readiness” in partnership with Department of Foreign Affairs and National Economic and Development Authority. The session focused on the experiences and readiness of the different ASEAN state for the regional economic integration. The panelists for the session were composed of Philippine-based foreign attaches and representatives from Singapore and Vietnam and Indonesia with Prof. Anne Candelaria of the Department of Political Science, Ateneo de Manila University as the moderator. Through the session, it was able to provide inputs to the LGUs about the different initiatives undertaken by other ASEAN countries to make their state more competitive and strategically prepared for the upcoming integration.
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