Specialist conference
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Key decision makers and advocates of good local governance met for the first General Assembly of the Philippine Consortium on Good Local Governance convened by the Local Government Development Foundation (LOGODEF). Dr. Peter Koeppinger, Resident Representative of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Manila (KAS-Manila) formally opened the two-day conference.
The Philippine Consortium on Good Local Governance (PCGLG) is a pioneering effort that brings together the different actors in the field of local governance: from members of the academe and civil society advocates to local government officials and officers of the bureaucracy. The Consortium serves as a platform for surfacing and discussing cutting-edge issues in local governance as well as identifying areas of unities and advocacy points.
For its first General Assembly, the Consortium formally adopted the local government bills drafted by its members to be actively pushed and lobbied in the 15th Congress. During the convention, it was also agreed upon that the membership and advocacy processes would be formalized. Lastly, a focused-group discussion surveying the impact of decentralization as part of the Consortium research and information management system was also conducted.
Based on the program planning of the previous year, it was agreed upon that the following three identified legislative measures would be adopted and formally submitted to Congress: 1) Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction; 2) Internal Revenue Allotment Reformulation and, 3) Local Sectoral Representation.
In line with this, member institutions pushing for similar efforts were invited to present their proposed pieces of legislation: Ms. Beechie de la Paz of Haribon Foundation for the Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Bill; Ms. Cathy Tiongson of Kaisahan and Ms. Beckie Malay of Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) for the Local Sectoral Representation in the Local Sanggunians and Director Terry Dumugho for Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) Reformulation.
All members and invited experts closely scrutinized each bill, as recommendations for possible improvement were raised. Technical Working Groups were also organized.
On the second day of the conference, Mayor Benhur Abalos, National President of the Union of Local Authorities in the Philippines (ULAP) and National President of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) delivered the keynote address. He expressed his support for the initiative and affirmed the commitment of both organizations that he heads to the ideals and objectives of the Consortium.
Dr. Alex Brillantes, Dean of the National College of Public Administration and Governance, University of the Philippines, Diliman, together with Professor Edmund Tayao, facilitated a Focus-Group Discussion on the impact of decentralization. The study aims to survey the impact of decentralization in the country using economic, political and administrative/governance frameworks.
Before the end of the conference, the Consortium formally welcomed two new members to its ranks: The Institute for Migration and Development Issues and Philippine Watershed Management Coalition Charter.
The Philippine Consortium of Good Local Governance is composed of the following organizations: Bureau of Local Government Development (BLGD); Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF); League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP); League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) and Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP); Senate Economic and Planning Office (SEPO); Congressional Planning and Budget Office (CPBD); La Salle Institute of Governance (LSIG); UP National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG); Ateneo School of Government (ASoG); University of the East- Political Science Department (UE); University of Santo Tomas- Social Research Center (UST-SRC); and the Naga City Institute of Governance (NCIG); Association of Schools of Public Administration of the Philippines (ASPAP); The Local Government Development Foundation (LOGODEF); KAISAHAN, Inc.; Kababaihan Gabay ng Bayan (KAGABAY); Galing Pook Foundation; Transparency International (TI); Association of Schools of Public Administration of the Philippines (ASPAP); Task Force Local Representation; Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM); Haribon Foundation; The Asia Foundation (TAF) and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ).
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