ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016-2019

UNION OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES OF THE PHILIPPINES ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT October 2016 - June 2019 Uniting for Local Autonomy, Converging National and Local Growth

THE PAST ULAP PRESIDENTS 1998 - 2016

HON. JOSE D. LINA 1998 - 2001

HON. RODOLFO P. DEL ROSARIO 2001 - 2004

HON. BENJAMIN C. ABALOS, JR. 2007 - 2010

HON. ERICO B. AUMENTADO 2004 - 2007

HON. ALFONSO V. UMALI, JR. 2010 - 2016

THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD 2017 - 2019

President HON. AL FRANCIS C. BICHARA League of Provinces of the Philippines National Chairman Governor of Albay

2nd Vice President - Visayas HON. LEONARDO M. JAVIER, JR. League of Municipalities of the Philippines Executive Vice President Mayor of Javier, Leyte

Auditor HON. ABRAHAM T. BURAHAN League of Municipalities of the Philippines Secretary General Mayor of Hadji Panglima Tahil, Sulu

Executive Vice President HON. EDGARDO D. PAMINTUAN League of Cities of the Philippines National President Mayor of Angeles City

3rd Vice President - Mindanao HON. DONNABEL JOY F. MEJIA Vice Mayors League of the Philippines National President Vice Mayor of Magsaysay, Davao del Sur

Chairman HON. RYAN LUIS V. SINGSON League of Provinces of the Philippines National President Governor of Ilocos Sur

Vice Chairman HON. ANTONIO T. ALBANO League of Vice Governors of the Philippines National President Vice Governor of Isabela

1st Vice President - Luzon HON.HUMERLITO A.DOLOR League of Vice Governors of the Philippines National Chairman Vice Governor of Oriental Mindoro

Secretary-General HON. DANILO C. DAYANGHIRANG Philippine Councilors League National Chairman Councilor of Davao City

Assistant Secretary General HON. JO KRISTINE C. REVIL Lady Local Legislators League National President Vice Governor of Masbate

Assistant Treasurer HON. MARLON PAULO C. ALEJANDRINO National Movement of Young Legislators National President Councilor of Valenzuela City

Assistant PRO Liaison Officer HON. EMMANUEL ANTONIO M. UMALI HON. RYAN R.ENRIQUEZ Vice Mayors League of the Philippines Provincial Board Members League of the Phils.

Executive Vice-President National Chairman Vice Mayor of Cabanatuan City Board Member of Cavite

Chairman for Advocacy and Policy HON. LUIS “CHAVIT” C. SSINGSON Philippine Councilors League National President Councilor of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur

2017 - 2018

Secretary General HON. EDMUND R. ABESAMIS Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas National President Board Member of Nueva Ecija

Treasurer

HON. KATHERINE C. AGAPAY Lady Local Legislators League Executive Vice President Vice Governor of Laguna

Assistant Liaison Officer

HON. OSCAR G. MALAPITAN LeagueofCitiesofthePhilippines PRO Mayor of Caloocan City

Legal Counsel HON. ENRIQUE V. DELA CRUZ, JR. National Movement of Young Legislators Secretary-General Board Member of Bulacan

Chairperson forGender and Development HON. RIA CHRISTINA FARIÑAS Provincial Board Members League of the Phils.

National President Board Member of Ilocos Norte

2018 - 2019

Assistant Auditor

HON. LORENZO B. ZUÑIGA LigangmgaBarangaysaPilipinas Secretary General Board Member of Laguna

LNB President HON. FAUSTINO DY V Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas National President Board Member of Isabela

LNB Executive Vice President

HON. EDEN C. PINEDA Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas Executive Vice President Councilor of Tacloban City

4L Executive Vice President HON. DONYA CRESENCIA R. TESORO Lady Local Legislators League Executive Vice President Vice Mayor of San Manuel, Tarlac

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT The inputs from local government perspective contributed towards validating the objectives for which government funds were allotted like the universal healthcare, open government, reforms and transparency in the extractive industry and disaster risk reduction and management, to name a few. As such, we reflect the dynamics at the grassroots level and carry with us the interests and agenda of our constituents.

Recognizing that the underpinnings of the local leadership are the people, we amplified in the national discourse the local narratives and perspectives of the grassroots from the four corners of the Philippine archipelago. As mouthpiece, we sought to speak the loudest about the different issues of LGUs from challenges in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to concerns on meeting the most basic needs of the ordinary citizens.

Invariably, ULAP also functioned as the channel between our members and national government agencies and institutional partners. This included cascading of guidance or message from the top tier of the government hierarchy to facilitate effective, localized implementation of policies and programs. Likewise, we also served as same avenue that ferried the thoughts and sentiments from bottom to top.

One vital role of ULAP has always been as a promoter of innovative ideas and development initiatives to inspire progress. New paradigms, perspectives and programs in local governance and public service delivery have been our look out in the search for replicable good governance models.

As the umbrella organization of all the leagues of local government units and locally elected officials, the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) can be considered a virtual microcosm of the subnational bureaucracy as we bring together the presidents and chairpersons (top honchos) of the individual local government leagues – from the provincial governors, city mayors as well as the municipal mayors down to the punong barangays (village chieftains) and all their subalterns.

The role of ULAP has transformed over the years as we intend to adjust and be responsive to the needs of the time. Our reach and network have been expanding and our engagements continue to bear fruits for our members. Indeed, we deserve a pat on the back. But, we still have a lot of work to do and possibilities to explore in order to attain our vision of being catalysts of nation-building towards inclusive and sustainable development.

As elected local officials bound by duty and common desire to bring about the best for our constituents, we can proudly say that we have done well, modesty aside, in the last three years.

As we move forward, we are fully aware of the challenges ahead, yet we are more thrilled of the opportunities in the horizon. We are positive of what tomorrow holds and have already set the course of where we are heading to become a key player in realizing a progressive, modern society.

In line with our vision to represent all member-leagues as partners of the national government and strategic sectors in pursuit of policy reforms and development agenda that support meaningful local government autonomy on one hand, greater affirmative action for the attainment of local government aspirations on the other hand, we exerted efforts to promote unity, capacitation and strengthening of our component membership – the local government units (LGUs).

For this purpose, ULAP endeavored to serve as the strategic advocacy arm of the local government.

Through horizontal consultation with our component units, ULAP gathered and consolidated the different stance and positions on various topics, issues and concerns. Applying the principle of resonant leadership, we sought to know and understand not just the ideas and sentiments of the members but also the positive characteristics and values brought to fore from the ground like innovativeness, resourcefulness, resiliency, diligence among others. This sometimes necessitated us to go around the country and travel from one island province to another just to accurately capture sentiments and build consensus.

We also made constant representation at all levels – be it in the policy making or program design, development and implementation.

All these we could have possibly missed without the active participation and cooperation of our member-leagues and LGUs. Our appreciation goes to them. Also, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, a former colleague in local government service, all national government agencies and partner institutions, and their respective officials and representatives, who worked with us towards achieving our common goal for the local governments and the whole nation.

Maraming salamat po. Mabuhay ang Pamahalaang Lokal, mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

GOV. AL FRANCIS C. BICHARA National President Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines

TABLE OF CONTENTS The Past ULAP Presidents 2 The National Executive Board 3 Message from the President 4 Convergence Framework and Strategic Approach 6

Overview ULAP’s Role ULAP’s Local Governance Approach

Milestones and Accomplishments (2016-2019) 10

Policy Reforms towards Improved Local Governance

11

• Road Network Leading to Progress 12 • Drumming up Support for Basic Education 14 • Increasing Availability of Human Resource for Health at the Grassroot Level 15

• Cutting Bureaucratic Red Tape Brings Good Business and Revenue 17

• Mainstreaming the Freedom of Information Agenda at the Sub-National Level 19

• ULAP Supports Government Workforce: Rationalizing Per Diem and Travel Allowance Rate 20

• Expeditious and Efficient Release of LGU Shares in the National Wealth 21

• Pursuing Reforms in the Health Sector Towards a Meaningful Healthcare for All 22

• Preserve the People’s Mandate Until the Court’s Final Ruling: Amend the Ombudsman Act 25 • Advancing Towards Full and Meaningful Local Autonomy through

Local Government Code Amendments 26

• Local Government Empowerment 28

• In Defense of What’s Rightfully LGU Share: Bitter-Sweet Victory 30

• Mentoring the Fledgling Youth Sector about Fund Management and Accountability 31

Program Initiatives towards Enhanced Service Delivery

32

• 911 Hotline and Emergency Call Centers:

Building the Infrastructure for Quick Response 33

• Localized Peace Talks: Capitalizing on Community Leadership 34

• ULAP Pushes the Envelop for Open Governance 35

• Reengineering Sub-National Processes to Reinforce Reform Initiatives 38

• The SGLG Awards and ULAP’s Role in Incentivizing Excellence in Local Governance 40

• DILG and ULAP lead the 25th Silver Anniversary of the Local Government Code (LGC)

in 2016 42

• Solidifying Convergence to Attain Disaster Resilience 44

• ULAP Regional Outreach-Advocacy and Sensing Roadshow 46

- Official Membership of ULAP in National Policy-Making Bodies, Engagements with Development Partners and Participation in International Fora

48

ULAP Secretariat 51

CONVERGENCE FRAMEWORK

&

STRATEGIC APPROACH

OVERVIEW

The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) is the umbrella organization of all leagues of local government units (LGUs) and locally elected government officials, and was formed in 1998, registered in 1999, and further endorsed through Executive Order 351, series of 2004.

Prior to its creation, ULAP was called the “League of Leagues”, which played an important central role for the Local Government Code of 1991. ULAP was created to convene and represent its member leagues and local governments to national and sub-national policy and program committees in continuous pursuit of strengthening and capacitating LGUs for local autonomy and good governance.

To date, ULAP’s primary member leagues are:

▶▶ League of Provinces of the Philippines ▶▶ Vice Mayors League of the Philippines (Provincial Governors) ▶▶ Provincial Board Members League of the ▶▶ League of Cities of the Philippines Philippines (City Mayors) ▶▶ Philippine Councilors League ▶▶ League of Municipalities of the Philippines ▶▶ National Movement of Young Legislators (Municipal Mayors) ▶▶ Lady Local Legislators League ▶▶ Liga ng mga Barangay (Village Chairpersons) ▶▶ League of Vice Governors of the Philippines

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ULAP’S ROLE ULAP is in the forefront for LGUs in discussing local issues with the national government, and bringing national policies, projects and programs on the ground. ULAP bridges the local government, with the help of all the member leagues, to the national government, private sector and civil society organizations. Over the years, ULAP’s responsibilities are becoming broader, and becoming more significant in local governance issues, problems and solutions.

Moreover, ULAP has been the connection of the LGUs to the opportunities being offered by the private sector, NGOs, CSOs and international development sector. Projects and programs of these sectors were brought to the LGUs, strategically looking at their local needs and matching them to the available projects and programs.

MISSION To unite, capacitate and strengthen all ULAP member-leagues & federations for a more effective and efficient delivery of basic services to local communities through transparent, accountable, innovative and participatory governance

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ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016 - 2019

VISION ULAP, representing member-leagues & federations of local government stakeholders, in partnership with the national government and strategic sectors, pursues full local autonomy and catalyzes nationbuilding towards inclusive and sustainable political, economic, and social development that will put the country at par with global standards

LOCAL GOVERNANCE APPROACH In carrying out this role as a bridge to LGUs, ULAP has adopted a local governance approach for the various programs and policy advocacies it carries. This Local Governance Approach serves as a guide for analysis and resourcegeneration of ULAP to convene alliances and put together more holistic program and policy “packages” for LGUs. ULAP believes that in order for initiatives to be effective, they should be able to cover as many components as possible.

The Local Governance Approach has three (3) components: Leadership, Supply and Demand.

LEADERSHIP The Leadership component reflects the need for effective and efficient policy environment for local governance, and wellcapacitated local leaders to carry out mandates and innovate on complex development challenges. For this component, ULAP is guided by these broad questions: ▶▶ What policies in the national and local levels must be in place so that local leaders will be empowered to perform their work more effectively and efficiently? ▶▶ What capacity-building input are needed so that local leaders can be strategic anf effective in their work?

SUPPLY

DEMAND

The Supply component encapsulates the need for access and availability of a wide range of resources for local governments to drive the needed process to be implemented. For this component, ULAP is guided by these broad questions:

Meanwhile, the Demand component reflects the need for community-level support and engagement for sustained and intensive collaborations with the people.For this component, ULAP is guided by these broad questions:

▶▶ What local resources can be tapped and generated to enable policy and program implementation? How can these resources be effectively and efficiently spent for desired outcomes

▶▶ How can initiatives foster demand-driven governance?

What modes of direct engagement with local governments can be opened to local groups from various sectors?

▶▶ How can local governments engage national government agencies, private sectors and civil society partners to leverage on each others’ financial resources, technical capacities, human resources, and strategic networks?

▶▶ How can the involvement of local partners help local governments sustain excellent initiatives? ▶▶ How can excellent initiatives withstands political transitions and unpredictable resource-generation environments?

This outcomes-driven and problem-solving approach to local governance allows ULAP to be dynamic, pragmatic, and responsive to local government issues, and stakeholder management and alliancebuilding.

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MILESTONES & ACCOMPLISHMENTS (2016-2019)

POLICY REFORMS TOWARDS IMPROVED LOCAL GOVERNANCE

Road Network Leading to Progress Every now and then, various complaints about road construction would surface at the implementation stage, enough to fuel public indignation over alleged waste of government funds. Such allegations of corruption, neglect or incompetence leveled against the local chief executives – whether unfounded or not – effectively undermine local leadership and alienate popular support.

Thus, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) started the development of a project management tool, patterned after a South Korean best practice model under the framework of the Development Solutions Partnership Program on Anti-Corruption of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The DILG initiative contemplates the introduction of a governance reform, tailored-fit initially for the implementation of the Conditional Matching Grant to Provinces (CMGP) but eventually will cover the entire public infrastructure program of the national government. To help provide the reform program a deepened local government perspective, ULAP offered its assistance in making the program and tool kit design.

For better appreciation, please note that CMGP succeeded the KALSADA Program which was first initiated in FY2016 following the banner completion of the Australian Aid’s Provincial Road Management Facility covering selected provinces in Visayas and Mindanao. This latest policy reform proposition, however, is aimed at promoting greater efficiency, accountability and transparency in local road management as well

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ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016 - 2019

as putting in place a system for the monitoring and maintenance of local roads quality. The system design is proposed to use as leverage an online platform that will require digital progress reporting and allow live stream citizen-monitoring of road construction projects.

For UNDP, this initiative should redound to the benefit of the LGUs towards overcoming Sustainable Development Challenges with the establishment of a reliable and sustainable access road network.

This early, ULAP has sounded the need for caution on the introduction of on-line technology. As a matter of smart intervention, ULAP generally lauds and in fact endorses ICT-anchored innovation purposively to improve local processes, inform the public about certain project details and monitor implementation progress as a way to promote modernization of the workplace, ease of doing business with local clients and transparency as a pillar of good governance. However, when applied on public infrastructure development as in this specific case, technology may be conveniently exploited for selfish political or extremist ideological ends, if not judiciously calibrated and tightly managed for optimum social and economic impact.

Currently, an inter-agency draft issuance prescribes the general policies and procedures in the DILG and Provincial Government monitoring of projects funded under the CMGP Program and the achievement of governance reform targets relative to road repair, rehabilitation, and improvement for FY 2019 and thereafter. In its current design, the program adopts the

use of a results-based monitoring method to track the performance and accomplishments of the Provincial Governments in the governance reform of the CMGP through the (a) Provincial Governance Reform Roadmap; and (b) DILG System for Monitoring Governance Reforms and Capacity Development Activities.

The draft emphasizes that monitoring activities under the CMGP Program shall be both results-based and riskbased. For infrastructure works, risk-based monitoring refers to the accountability of the Provincial Governments which intends to promote conscious and conscientious implementation of their road projects. This method of monitoring is a process of identifying projects-atrisk using the risk assessment tools which will help in determining the most appropriate interventions. There will be three (3) subsystems under this framework, to wit: (a) LGU Monitoring; (b) DILG Monitoring; and (c) External Monitoring, which pertains to monitoring by the citizens through the DevLive system application. Citizens will be able to view the details of a project in DevLive and provide feedback/comment, which will be forwarded to the concerned LGU and DILG Office if validated.

Accordingly, the monitoring parameters set will include the following: a. Timeliness – The primary indicator is the variance between planned and actual accomplishments. The risk level shall be measured in terms of negative variance (slippage) such that projects with slippage

above -15% shall be considered as high risk, -10% to -15% as moderate risk and below -10% as low risk. b. Quality – The primary indicator is the workmanship assessment rating using the Quality Assurance (QA) Tool. QA rating below 70% shall be considered as high risk, 70% to 85% as moderate risk, and above 85% as low risk. c. Project Management and Documentation – The primary indicator is the project management and documentation assessment rating generated from the QA Tool. QA rating below 70% shall be considered as high risk, 70% to 85% as moderate risk, and above 85% as low risk.

Under the draft issuance, the Provincial Government is enjoined to organize a Local Road Management Team (LRMT) that will be mandated to oversee the implementation of the CMGP projects as well as the activities to achieve reforms on local road management and public financial management. In particular, the LRMT is envisioned to prepare bi-annual reports, a mid-year review and an annual report on governance reform accomplishments to be submitted to the Provincial Governor and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. The Provincial Government shall then submit a copy of the reports as approved by the Provincial Governor to the DILG.

Photo Courtesy: http://www.undp.org/content/seoul_policy_center/en/home2/presscenter/articles/2018/07/12/philippines-delegation-meets-korean-partners-todiscuss-transparency-and-efficiency-in-public-construction-management.html

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Drumming up Support for Basic Education In an effort to keep the communication lines open and to sustain the initiatives for dialogue between the Department of Education (DepEd), LGUs as well as other local education sector stakeholders, the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) co-sponsored with the Department of Education (DepEd) once again the Local Government Forum on Education. This time, it was held in Clark, Pampanga on 02 August 2018. It was intended to bring to the fore the common issues and concerns of LGUs in basic education, particularly on the matter of the Special Education Fund (SEF) as the primary support for local education programs.

against the SEF including sports and extra-curricular programs. As it is today, utilization is limited to the existing menu of allocation, to wit: ▶▶ Operation and maintenance of public schools ▶▶ Construction and repair of school buildings ▶▶ Facilities and equipment ▶▶ Educational research ▶▶ Purchase of books and periodicals ▶▶ Payment of compensation/allowances of locally hired teachers

ULAP Calls for a Revised SEF Guidelines

In more practical terms, ULAP previously partnered with DepEd, BPI Foundation and YGOAL to enhance the chances for success of the K to 12 Program. Joining forces as key actors, the BPI-sponsored 2-day Business and Academic Fair was held at the SMX Convention in Taguig City in September 2017 as part of the Senior High Acceleration Program for Employment and Entrepreneurship (SHAPE) Program. The objective was to assist in providing linkages for the Work Immersion Program of the K-12 as an academic requirement for graduation.

Following a candid discourse, and in direct response to issues and concerns that surfaced, the Department of Education (DepEd) through its Undersecretary for Legislative Affairs, External Partnerships and School Sports, Tonisito Umali, issued a commitment to review the scope of menu currently authorized to tap into the Special Education Fund (SEF) with the end-view of updating via further amendments to the existing SEF utilization guidelines.

It may be pointed out that under the Local Government Code (LGC), an additional tax of 1% on the assessed value of real property may be levied and collected by a province or a city, provided that the said tax collected by the province is shared equally by the province with the municipalities within its jurisdiction, while the city gets to keep all of its collection. The proceeds from this special levy accrue to the SEF and are automatically released to the Local School Boards as source of supplemental funds for the annual budgetary needs of the operation and maintenance of public schools. However, it was observed that some LGUs have made liberal application of the SEF possibly in violation of the current guidelines.

Various education stakeholders called out the attention of the DepEd towards the urgent need to take a closer look at the usual practice in the utilization of the SEF on the ground vis-à-vis the numerous new policy spurs and development thrusts in basic education sub-sectors, e.g., K to 12 and early childhood care and development (ECCD) programs. There was express apprehension that internal audit may raise the red flag, or worse yet, subsequently find disallowable the budgetary application of the SEF on certain children’s agenda-related activities given the national campaign for localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) challenges.

There was apprehension that certain expenses incurred in recent past may become subject of audit observations since there have been different opinions and treatment of these items as to whether they may be chargeable

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ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016 - 2019

ULAP Partnership for Local Education Development

As one of the Shape Non- Government Sector Champions and a program partner and advocate of the K to 12, ULAP welcomes this opportunity to strengthen the non-curricular training for students to complement classroom education and training with actual hands-on work experience.

Local government units are welcome to partner with the BPI Foundation Inc. and YGOAL, Inc. for the Work Immersion Program of the K to 12. For more details of the partnership, please contact Ms. Miriam Padua, ULAP External Partnerships Manager, at 534-6789 or 717-1810 or email at ulapnatsec@gmail.com.

Increasing Availability of Human Resource for Health at the Grassroots Level It was quite good timing to raise some of the most pressing concerns of the local government and get immediate response straight out of the horse’s mouth, especially in regard to health service delivery.

At the 86th ULAP National Executive Board (NEB) meeting in January 2018, the stalwarts of the ten (10) different member-Leagues came face-to-face with the revered head-physician of the country, Dr. Francisco T. Duque III, Secretary of the Department of Health (DOH), for a no-holds barred question-and-answer session.

ULAP National President and League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) Chairperson, Governor Al Francis C. Bichara of Albay, in an impassioned appeal, said that “a community is only as strong as the health of its constituents” even as he lamented what he referred to as “the dire realities of health service delivery on the ground”. He explained that local leaders have not been short of innovativeness given their socioeconomic contexts but the desire by LGUs to prioritize and improve health services has become a common frustration in the face of the usual budgetary constraints, as well as shortage of skilled medical professionals and personnel.

He averred that, assuming for the sake of argument that funds were sufficient, the physical availability of medical practitioners, not to mention their emotional preparedness and spiritual willingness to be deployed to the far-flung rural areas, has always dampened any local effort to reach out to vulnerable segments of society and/or expand the scope of their medical and health programs.

He subsequently recommended to DOH, in coordination with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the creation of a scholarship program dedicated towards building a cadre of health and medical practitioners/ professionals from among qualified and deserving individuals in the local community, which as a pre-

condition attached to the scholarship grant, upon graduation and passing the medical board examinations, the students will serve for a period of time as a pay-back service. He expressed optimism that this program would not only redound to better health service delivery in the community because of the augmentation of the number of individual professionals getting into health service network, but would serve to inspire the young members of the community to contribute meaningfully towards improving their collective standard of living by pursuing higher education that responds to the actual needs around them.

In fulfillment of his own commitment to develop appropriate DOH intervention to address the lack of medical personnel and to support ULAP President’s proposal, the Department of Health (DOH) issued Department Memorandum No. 2018-0144, dated April 09, 2018. The said memorandum, entitled “Acceptance of Scholars and Partner Schools for the Department of Health Pre-Service Scholarship Program for Medical and Midwifery Courses,” is a scholarship program of the Department which aims to increase availability of physicians, midwives and other priority health care professionals who shall provide quality basic health care services to the un-served, underserved, hard to reach, economically underdeveloped, distressed, conflict and geographically isolated and disadvantage areas (GIDA) of the country. This program provides opportunities to deserving and academically able students to pursue studies in academic institutions recognized and accredited by CHED. The DOH has already started accepting applications for the Pre-Service Scholarship for Medical and Midwifery students. All DOH Regional Offices and DOH Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have been directed to observe the proper recruitment and ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016-2019

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selection of applicants, based on the following minimum qualification requirements: a.

b. c.

d.

e.

Must be a Natural born/ Naturalized Filipino

Citizen; Must be of good moral character Must have passed the admission requirements, standards and policies of chosen school as well as the other requirements of the DOH; Must not have availed of any other scholarship grants or with return service obligation at the time of the application or at the same period; Priority shall be given to any of the following: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Applicants residing in GIDA and indigenous communities as certified by concerned government agencies e.g., National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), Local Government Unit (LGUs); Members of the minority sector e.g., Indigenous People; Dependents of government employees, Barangay Health Workers and Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA); and Victims of calamities, children/ dependents of police/soldiers fatally wounded/killed on duty.

The DOH shall grant to the Scholar a package that includes the following: ▶▶ Tuition fees, laboratory, miscellaneous and other related school fees which shall be paid directly to the partner school; ▶▶ Enrolment to Philhealth Insurance for 18 years old and above in the amount of Php200.00 per month; ▶▶ Subsidy and allowances which shall be paid directly to the scholars:

ALLOWANCES

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MEDICAL

MIDWIFERY

a. Book Allowance

P 12,100.00/ Semester

P 10,000.00 / Semester

b. Uniform Allowance

P 3,025.00 / Semester

P 2,500.00 / Semester

c. Miscellaneous P 5,500.00 / Allowance Semester

P 5,500.00 / Semester

d. Living Subsidy

P 4,500.00 / month

P 4,500.00 / month

e. Lodging

P 3,000.00 / month

P 3,000.00 / month

f. Transportation Allowance

P 880.00 / month

P 880.00 / month

ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016 - 2019

For more details regarding this program, please contact Career and Development Management Division (CDMD) of the Health Human Resource Development Bureau (HHRDB) of DOH at (02) 651 7800 local 4227 or at (02) 743 1776 or through email address cdmd.hhrdb.doh@ gmail.com.

So, kudos to Secretary Duque for acting with dispatch to address the nagging inadequacy of Human Resource for Health (HRH) to population ratio and inequitable distribution of healthcare professionals in the country.

This may be a medium-term solution but a step in the right direction!

Cutting Bureaucratic Red Tape Brings Good Business and Revenue It has long been the problem – be it at the national or local government level – that the perennial bureaucratic red tape has been impeding the inflow of business investments. For low income LGUs, it means further deprivation in terms of potential economic livelihood and additional revenue. It has been so bad that the World Bank in its annual ratings placed the Philippines at number 124 out of 190 countries in 2018 – a marked deterioration from rank 113 the year before!

Drastic improvement from here onwards is expected with the enactment on 28 March 2018 of Republic Act No. 11032, otherwise known as the “Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act”. The new law creates the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), attached to the Office of the President to ensure compliance to the stringent requirements that are deemed necessary to improve the country’s overall competitiveness as an investment destination.

As provided in the law, ULAP sits in the inter-agency committee tasked to draft the IRR; the active presence of ULAP at this stage particularly during the IRR formulation process is crucial in understanding the technical difficulties at the grassroots in implementing the necessary changes in local processes that would have to be made to fully and speedy operationalize the law. ULAP had to articulate the anticipated challenges in terms of budgetary resources, availability of skilled personnel and technological capability level in rural settings, as well as the chilling effect of the stiff penalty clause that threatens

non-compliance or even unintended lapses in the course of the implementation. A Regional Roadshow Campaign has already been set with ULAP tapped as partner institution for information dissemination and advocacy.

The law is about streamlining and improving the current systems and procedures of government services; it aims to reduce processing time, cut bureaucratic red tape, and eliminate corrupt practices. Thus, it applies to all government offices and agencies including LGUs, GOCCs and other government instrumentalities, both here and abroad, that transact with the general public.

DILG Directive to LGUs Relatedly, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) issued Memorandum Circular No. 2018-214 calling for the reengineering of LGU Systems and Procedures and enjoining its strict implementation.

Specifically, LGUs are required to immediately undertake following major activities: ▶▶

▶▶

▶▶

Reduce bureaucratic red tape and processing time procedures Review the body of policies and recommend the repeal of outdated or redundant executive issuances and local ordinances Undergo regulatory impact assessment (RIA)

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Streamlined Procedures While observing a No-Contact Policy for local business license, clearances, permits or authorizations, the law requires streamlined procedures through the following: ▶▶ use of unified business application forms; ▶▶ establishment of BOSS (business one-stop shop); ▶▶ barangay co-location with the LGUs (i.e., barangay clearances/permits to be applied, issued, and collected at the city or municipality only); ▶▶ automation of BPLS (business permit and license system) within 3 years It should be noted that the DICT will extend assistance to 3rd to 6th class municipalities and provinces in the form of appropriate equipment and connectivity, ICT platform, training and capability building; otherwise, all costs are charged against the LGU general fund.

Prescribed Processing Time While ARTA is tasked to categorize all transactions according to nature and prescribed processing time, the law provides that failure to meet prescribed deadline means automatic approval of the transaction unless an advisory is given to the applicant in writing within the prescribe period. Otherwise, same may trigger the filing of appropriate administrative and criminal charges against errant personnel. Depending on the classification of the transaction, the prescribed period within which to complete the transaction is as follows: ▶▶ simple transactions (maximum of 3 working days); ▶▶ complex transactions (maximum of 7 working days); and ▶▶ highly technical transactions (maximum of 20 working days) Violative Acts The new law may be harsh, but the law must be followed to the letter. Hereunder are the list of acts that constitute punishable violations. ▶▶ Refusal to accept application with complete requirements without due cause; ▶▶ Imposition of additional requirements other than those in a checklist; ▶▶ Imposition of additional costs; ▶▶ Failure to give written notice of disapproval; ▶▶ Failure to render services within the prescribed processing time (3-7-20); ▶▶ Failure to attend to an applicant who are within the premises prior to end of official working hours; ▶▶ Failure or refusal to issue official receipts; and

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ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016 - 2019

▶▶ Fixing and/or collusion with fixers in consideration of any gain Penalties for violations The law observes a two-strike policy – meaning there are stiffer penalties for committing the same violation a second time. This matter is still pending further discussion since ULAP and other stakeholders would like to make the law more liberal in qualifying what constitutes a violation and a second offense. Below is the penalty that awaits violators: ▶▶

▶▶

First offense – administrative liability with 6 months suspension; Second offense – administrative and criminal liability punishable by dismissal from public office; forfeiture of retirement benefits; imprisonment of 1 year to 6 years; fine of not less than P500K to P2M.

Mainstreaming the Freedom of Information Agenda At The Sub-National Level The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), as a member of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Steering Committee, fully supports the implementation of the OGP National Action Plan (NAP). In the OGP NAP, the pivotal role of the LGUs in creating a more open government via local mechanisms for the implementation of President Duterte’s Executive Order on Freedom of Information (FOI), was underscored. The FOI, as one of the major programs committed to the OGP, is an endeavor which cuts across all the other commitments in the Philippine OGP-NAP and promotes transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement.

Specifically, as the focal advocacy arm and lead representation of the entire gamut of the local government, ULAP has taken the initiative of distributing to its National Executive Board Officers and member-leagues the draft template on Ordinance operationalizing FOI, along with the guidelines, as well as unending support to other FOI initiatives through information dissemination.

Highlighting nthe efforts of key stakeholders To honor and recognize the significant efforts and accomplishment of the organization to the implementation of the FOI initiatives, ULAP is one of the recipients of the 2018 FOI Awards. ULAP Executive Vice President and League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) President Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, and ULAP Executive Director Bernardino Sayo received the award on behalf of the National Executive Board of ULAP during the Awarding Ceremony, at the National Museum of Fine Arts Auditorium, Manila on November 27, 2018. The FOI Awards, now on its second year, is conferred to agencies individuals, organizations and other stakeholders who

have contributed to the development and progress of the FOI Program, pursuant to the FOI Memorandum Circular No. 3, s. 2018.

With this recognition, ULAP shall continuously persevere to strengthen partnership and collaboration with the national government agencies and other strategic stakeholders to champion the cause of good local governance in the pursuit of full and meaningful local autonomy.

Equipping strategic partners in furtherance of the FOI program As the lead agency mandated by Memorandum Order No. 10 s. 2016 to oversee and implement the FOI Program, the PCOO has been conducting information, education, communication, and capacity-building activities to fully equip its stakeholders—national government agencies, civil society organizations, the media, the academe, and the private sector—on the implementation of the program and the features of the eFOI Portal.

This 2019, the FOI – Project Management Office (FOIPMO) envisions to further strengthen the implementation of the program and widen its reach among stakeholders through the conduct of various programs and activities related to FOI. This includes the FOI Training of Trainers (ToT), which will take place in June 2019, for strategic partner organizations which aims to train individuals who can further cascade the people’s right to information and the FOI Program across regions.

ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016-2019

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ULAP Supports Government Workforce: Rationalizing Per Diem and Travel Allowance Rates The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) commends the recent issuance of Executive Order No. 77 (https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2019/03/15/executiveorder-no-77-s-2019/) prescribing the new guidelines for official local and foreign travel of government officials. As amendments to Executive Orders 248 and 298, EO 77 provides for more economically appropriate rates and guidelines in accordance with the President’s promise of people-centered, clean, and efficient governance.

While some provisions of Executive Order Nos. 248 and 298 continue to be relevant, its outdated per diem and travel allowance rate schedule isno longer realistic given the prevailing high cost of living and inflation rate. This, coupled with the growing clamor from various government agencies and institutions, warrants the action of the Travel Rate Committee (TRC).

Meanwhile, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), pursuant to the directive of the President, issued the Memorandum Circular 2019-82 (https://www.dilg. gov.ph/issuances/mc/Guidelines-on-the-Local-Travel-ofLocal-Government-Officials-and-Employees-pursuant-tothe-Directive-from-the-Office-of-the-President-/2980) to rationalize and update existing policies and guidelines on local travel of local officials and employees, and grant of payment of travel expenses.

Among the salient changes on Daily Travel Expenses (DTEs) entitlements are as follows:

MAXIMUM DTE

DESTINATION Cluster 1

Regions I, II, III, IV, V, VIII, IX, XII, ARMM

P 1,500.00

Cluster 2

Regions VI, VII, X, XI, CAR

P 1,800.00

Cluster 3

Regions IV-A, P 2,200.00 MIMAROPA, NCR

DTE shall be based on the following percentages:

PARTICULARS Arrival at destination (regardless of time) and succeeding day/s thereof on official business

PERCENTAGE 100%

TO COVER Hotel/Lodging (50%) Meals (30%) Incidental Expenses (20%)

Departure for official station (regardless of time), if other than date of arrival

50%

Meals (30%) Incidental Expenses (20%)

Although minimal adjustment from the outdated PHP800, regardless of rank and destination, benchmark; the increase is deemed a progressive reform, particularly its provisions on varying DTEs per Cluster destination, reflecting and considering varying regional cost of living. Meanwhile, the removal of the arrival and departure timing is a welcome improvement.

On the approval of local travels, the recent IRR provides that, irrespective of the number of days, Head of National Government Agencies (NGAs), Chairs of Governing Boards, Committees, and Commission, Regional Governor of ARMM, Provincial Governors, and Mayors of Special, Highly Urbanized and Independent Component Cities need not be approved by higher authorities. For local travel of employees for less than thirty (30) days, the aforesaid authorities shall approve the travels while for more than (30) days, the Secretary of the DILG shall approve the travel.

On foreign travel pre-departure expenses, the government allotted PHP 3,500 to cover miscellaneous expense (e.g. fare, passport processing, immunization, porterage among others). On top of the PHP 3,500 pre-departure allowance, reimbursement of airport terminal fees shall be allowed upon completion of the trip.

The aforementioned salient points of EO 77 are believed to fast track administrative and logistical arrangements for official travels while reducing repetitive reportorial requirements (e.g. timing of arrival and departure, submission of draft itinerary with timing, liquidation report with timing).

The ULAP, alongside its Member-Leagues, is a front-liner and champion of this initiative. In its NEB Resolution 2018-10 (https://www.ulap.net.ph/board-resolutions.html), it strongly expressed its stand that the then per diem rate is not in any way congruent or responsive to prevailing market prices, rendering government officials and employees economicallydeprived in fulfilling their official tasks.

To push the initiative further, the ULAP actively lobbied and rallied various NGAs while constantly in talks with the Congress and the Office of the President. ULAP’s due diligence realized its goal when the TRC was able to submit their recommendations to the President which the latter accepted as fair and reasonable.

The EO 77 took effect last 15th of March, 2019.

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ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016 - 2019

Expeditious and Efficient Release of LGU Shares in the National Wealth In pursuit of genuine local autonomy, the 1987 Constitution and the Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160) seek to advance local fiscal self-reliance. As one of the operative principles of decentralization, the bestowing of duties, responsibilities, and accountabilities from the national government to the LGUs ought to be accompanied with provision for reasonably adequate resources to discharge their powers and effectively carry out their functions. Hence, LGUs are given the power to create and broaden their own sources of revenue, the right to a just share in national taxes and an equitable share in the proceeds of the utilization and development of the national wealth within their respective areas1 .

The LGC provides that LGUs shall be entitled to a forty percent (40%) share of the gross collection from mining taxes, royalties, forestry and fishery charges, and other taxes, fees, or charges, including related surcharges, interests, or fines, and from its share in any co-production, joint venture or production sharing agreement in the utilization and development of the national wealth2.

However, bureaucratic intricacies and procedural convolutions have been posing enormous challenges for LGUs in implementing development and livelihood projects to be financed by their shares in the national wealth because of either discrepancies in the computation, delays in its release or both. To address this issue, the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), together with its member leagues, has been lobbying and working with concerned national government agencies in updating the existing rules and process to improve timeliness, accuracy and efficiency.

This year, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department and Finance (DOF) and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) drafted a Joint Memorandum Circular to enhance the guidelines and procedures on the release of the shares of LGUs in the proceeds from the development and utilization of the national wealth. Aside from streamlining the process and reducing, if not eliminating discrepancies in the records of different government agencies and units, the proposed policy is also aimed to enhance the level the transparency in the allocation, release and utilization of the shares of the LGUs. The draft guidelines will cover the following types of national wealth:

1 2

Section 3(d) of the Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991) Section 290 of the Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Government Code of 1991)

PARTICULARS

COLLECTING AGENCIES

Forest Charges

DENR

Royalty income from mineral reservation

Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB)

Energy Resources Production

DOE

Mining Taxes

Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)

During budget preparation, the proposed guidelines will require the collecting agencies concerned to submit to the DBM a certification showing the projected forty percent (40%) shares of the LGUs from the gross collections to be derived by the national government for the current fiscal year on or before March 15 of the same year. However, for the shares of LGUs in prior years’ collections that do not have an appropriation cover, a separate certification of the actual LGU shares shall be submitted by the collecting agency concerned to the DBM also on or before March 15 of the current fiscal year.

When it comes to the releasing of the LGU shares, the collecting agencies concerned shall prepare a certification of actual collections supported by a detailed list of Deposited Collections and the corresponding Deposit Slips and transmit the same to the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) within a certain period of time. Furthermore, the method of validation and reconciliation of data between the BTr and collecting agencies will also be clearly laid down.

To promote transparency in the process, among the requisites from the BTr or the collecting agencies is the disclosure in their request all relevant information and details, such as the types and sources of payments on a per company basis, specific types of revenue base, dates of payment, exact place of extraction and computation of the LGU shares.

For the LGUs’ part, they will be required to prepare quarterly reports on fund utilization and status of programs and projects being implemented. The said reports shall be submitted to the DOF-Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF). Moreover, said reports shall also be posted in the LGU’s website within twenty (20) days from the end of each quarter and in at least three (3) conspicuous public places in the locality, consistent with the Full Disclosure Policy of the DILG to promote “Good Housekeeping” in local governance.

Aside from the proposed new guidelines discussed above, there were also legislative proposals in the 17th Congress to directly remit to the LGUs their shares through their respective local treasurers and to amend Section 294 of the LGC to remove the restriction in the utilization of proceeds of the LGUs from national wealth revenues.

ULAP Accomplishment Report 2017-2019

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Photo Courtesy: https://www.pna.gov.ph/photos/39537

Pursuing Reforms in the Health Sector Towards a Meaningful Healthcare for All Although key structural reforms and programs have been undertaken in the health sector by the government over the last three (3) decades, the ideal concept of a responsive health system providing better health outcomes and financial protection to Filipinos still remains an enormous challenge in the country. Persistent inequities in health outcomes, restrictive and impoverishing healthcare costs, and poor quality and under provision of care in public clinics and hospitals1 are still the issues that continue to haunt us and that need to be effectively addressed.

the current coverage levels and in devising strategies towards universal coverage, there is still a lot of work to do to make the country’s health care system desirable.

Among the reasons are the fragmentation of the health service delivery system and the complex financing system involving various players, at times operating in unsynchronized ways4.

Life expectancy and infant mortality rates in the Philippines continue to lag behind its ASEAN neighbors while household out-of-pocket payments accounted for a huge portion (54.2%) of the country’s current health expenditures in 20162. In many cases, this high level of out-of-pocket expenses result to financial catastrophe and impoverishment with 1.5 million families being pushed to poverty because of this every year3.

Based on the framework (see Figure A) provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) in assessing Department of Health (DOH). “All for Health towards Health for All: Philippine Health Agenda 2016-2022” 2 Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) 3 Department of Health (DOH). “All for Health towards Health for All: Philippine Health Agenda 2016-2022” 1

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ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016 - 2019

Figure A. WHO Framework Towards Universal Coverage5

In the face of these challenges, ULAP fully recognizes the vital role of the local government units (LGUs) in World Health Organization (WHO). “The Philippines Health System Review”; 2011 5 World Health Organization (WHO). “Arguing for Universal Health Coverage”; 2013 4

the sustained pursuit of reforms in the health sector to attain affordable, quality health care for all, in light of the devolution of health functions. With this, ULAP has been unceasingly working with the Legislative Department, various national government agencies, particularly the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), and other stakeholders to attain the desired goals.

Last February 2019, President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed into law Republic Act No. 11223 or the “Universal Health Care Act” (UHC Act). It seeks to progressively realize universal health care in the country through a systematic approach and clear delineation of roles of key agencies and stakeholders and ensure that all Filipinos are guaranteed equitable access to comprehensive set of cost-effective and quality health care goods and services, giving priority to the needs of the population who can least afford such services.

This law will consolidate the existing yet fragmented financial flows, increase the fiscal space for benefit delivery, improve the governance and performance of devolved local health systems and institutionalize support mechanisms such as health technology assessment and health promotion6. Among the salient features are: ▶▶ Creation of the National Health Workforce Support System for publicly owned or led service delivery networks to ensure provision of quality health care services and address human resource needs in service delivery networks. ▶▶

Pooling of funds intended to support provision of individual-based services. This includes but not limited to, premium contributions and subsidies, other appropriations earmarked by the government for health operations, and other sources such as health assistance funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), medical assistance programs of DOH, administrative fines, donations and grants-in-aid, and all accruals thereof.

▶▶

Service Delivery Networks to ensure population and individual-based services by contracted networks consisting of purely public, private or mix of public and private entities. While all health facilities encompassing primary to

tertiary care within a provincial and city jurisdiction are mandated to form as many service delivery networks as deemed appropriate, delivery of population- based entitlements is the primary task of the

World Health Organization. “UHC Act in the Philippines: a new dawn for health care”; 2019 6

LGUs while individual-based entitlements must be delivered through networks of licensed and contracted public and private facilities.

The draft Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) is currently being finalized by the DOH, in partnership with PhilHealth and in consultation with various sectors.

ULAP consistently participated in the technical working group meetings and committee hearings in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the crafting of and during deliberations on the measure where we laid down the issues and concerns of the LGUs on the table. Moreover, recently we have been greatly involved also in the process of the drafting of the law’s IRR where we brought in the local government perspective during the technical working group and consultation meetings and discussions.

Complementing the UHC Act, a number of landmark legislations were enacted, advancing health reforms and development, where ULAP had contributed in the consultations and discussions by articulating the LGU position and standpoint.

1. “Mental Health Act” (Republic Act No. 11036) This law establishes a National Mental Health Policy to enhance the delivery of integrated mental health services.

It likewise promotes and protects the rights of persons utilizing psychosocial health services. In addition, it also delineates the duties and responsibilities of the different government agencies including the LGUs in achieving the objectives of the program. This legislation seeks to make the country’s mental health policy and programs at par with international norms and standards.

The DOH issued the IRR of the law after a series of consultations with different stakeholders.

2. “Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act” (Republic Act No. 11037) With the ultimate goal to combat hunger and undernutrition among Filipino children, this law institutionalizes a National Feeding Program for undernourished children in public day care, kindergarten and elementary schools. The law requires the government to provide a supplemental feeding program for day care children, a school-based feeding program for public school children, a milk-feeding program, a micronutrient feeding program, health examinations, vaccinations, and deworming, “Gulayan sa Paaralan”, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) and integrated nutrition education, behavioral transformation, and social mobilization. It is a vital step towards total elimination of the perennial problem on malnutrition and undernutrition, specially in children.

ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016-2019

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3. “Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act” (Republic Act No. 11148)

Dubbed as the “First 1000 Days Law”, it mandates the scaling up of the national and local health and nutrition programs through a strengthened integrated strategy for maternal, neonatal, child health and nutrition in the first one thousand (1,000) days of life.

In its coverage, the National Nutrition Council (NNC) will prioritize LGUs meeting any of the following criteria: a.

b.

c.

With the highest prevalence of undernutrition and nutrient-deficiency among pregnant and lactating women and children aged zero (0) to two (2) years; Availability of facilities or capability to implement the program; and Prioritizes such program in their locality and willingness to provide counterpart resources for its implementation.

The law is a significant and aggressive response to malnutrition, which remains a significant public health concern in the Philippines. An estimated 4.2 million children are stunted or short for their age while more than 300,000 children under 5 years are severely wasted or thin for their height7.

4.“Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act” (Republic Act No. 11166)

This law was enacted to strengthen the country’s comprehensive policy on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) prevention, treatment, care, and support. The Philippine National Aids Council (PNAC) created by Republic Act No. 8504 is also being reconstituted and streamlined to ensure the implementation of the response to the HIV and AIDS situation. It is expected to boost the country’s response to the alarming rise in the number of HIV/AIDS cases.

A focus will also be given to preventing cancer recurrence

24

The said measure is projected to address the high incidence of cancer deaths in the country, which is up to eight (8) deaths per day for childhood cancer and up to seven (7) deaths per hour for adult cancer resulting to over 66,000 cancer deaths each year8.

Aside from active participation in pushing for meaningful reforms in the country’s health system through legislation, ULAP also serves as an able partner of the DOH in its health promotion and education efforts to its network, member-leagues and LGUs. The latest off which was the massive information and advocacy campaign on the measles outbreak that affected the country early this year.

In consideration of the vital role LGUs play in pursuing the national agenda for health and in recognition of ULAP’s active involvement and contribution in its various undertakings, DOH invited ULAP to be part of its MultiSectoral Governance Council (MSGC). It is a body formed to formalize the participation of external stakeholders to ensure the sustainability of the Performance Governance System (PGS), a key management system for crystalizing strategies and monitoring performance accountability in the health sector. It was institutionalized by DOH in support of its FOURmula One Plus for Health mediumterm strategic policy to attain universal health care.

Indeed, much has already been done to improve the health of the Filipino under the leadership of President Duterte and Secretary Francisco Duque and ULAP is honored and delighted to be a partner in these reform policies and initiatives.

5. “National Integrated Cancer Control Act” (Republic Act No. 11215)

With the mandate to adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development, the law institutionalizes a National Integrated Cancer Control Program, which includes the strengthening of integrative, multidisciplinary, patient and family-centered cancer control policies, programs, systems, interventions and services. Aside from that, the measure also aims to reduce the incidence and deaths from preventable cancer types.

7

and secondary cancer among survivors and people living with cancer, making cancer treatment and care affordable and accessible, and supporting the recovery and reintegration to society of survivors.

Department of Health (DOH)

ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016 - 2019

8

Department of Health (DOH).“Philippine Cancer Facts and Estimates”.

Photo Courtesy: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/968540/ombudsman-does-not-publicize-probe-result-as-matter-of-policy-official/office-of-the-ombudsman-facade

Preserve the People’s Mandate Until the Court’s Final Ruling: Amend the Ombudsman Act There have been numerous instances where local officials were suspended or removed from their elective posts long before final judicial ruling was handed down on a pending complaint of misfeasance or malfeasance in office. Regardless of the ground, any misconduct by a public official reported to the Ombudsman, whether anonymously or not, must be judiciously looked into as part of due process guaranteed by the Constitution.

However, the action of the Ombudsman to suspend or remove an elected official during the pendency of the case and before the final ruling by the Sandiganbayan is handed down, proves invariably detrimental to public service delivery and political cohesion. In LGUs affected by such Ombudsman actions, the constituency without its rudders easily fractures between competing political forces, even as government operations struggle to run a slow grind or run totally aground.

In view thereof, an amendatory bill to the Ombudsman Act was drafted by ULAP for shepherding in Congress, entitled: “AN ACT AMENDING R.A. NO. 6770 ENTITLED “THE OMBUDSMAN ACT” BY DELIMITING THE POWER OF THE OMBUDSMAN UNDER SECTION 25, PARAGRAPH 2 THEREOF, TO IMPOSE PENALTIES AGAINST OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE OF THE GOVERNMENT SUBJECT OF COMPLAINT OR CHARGES IN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS UP TO SUSPENSION ONLY, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.” It may be pointed out that at present, there are three (3) government agencies that may exercise jurisdiction over administrative cases against government employees and officials, to wit:

For appointive officials and employees: ▶▶ Head of Agency (Employer) (P.D. 807 and 2017 RACCS) ▶▶ Civil Service Commission (P.D. 807) ▶▶ Ombudsman (R.A. 6770) For elective officials: ▶▶ Local Sanggunian (R.A. 7160 or the Local Government Code of the Philippines) ▶▶ Ombudsman (R.A. 6770; Sec. 13) The draft bill maintains that the Ombudsman cannot be the prosecutor and the judge at the same time in an administrative case where the penalty is dismissal with forfeiture of benefits. If a criminal case with prima facie evidence is eventually elevated to the Sandiganbayan for trial, the same course should be followed in an administrative case with prima facie evidence based on the investigation conducted by the Ombudsman.

In the latter, it is logical as it is hereby proposed for the administrative case to be transmitted to the CSC as the proper disciplinary authority to hear the defense against the penalty of dismissal. The draft bill specifically provides that if by prima facie evidence, the imposable penalty is dismissal, the Ombudsman shall refer the case and transmit the records of thereof to the Civil Service Commission for proper disposition, and for which the latter shall conduct the proper investigation after appropriate notice and hearing.

ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016-2019

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Advancing Towards Full and Meaningful Local Autonomy Through Local Government Code Amendments The Local Government Code (LGC) of 1991, otherwise known as Republic Act No. 7160, ushered in an era of greater autonomy and more devolved functions and services for local government units (LGUs). However, despite a provision mandating its review every five (5) years, it has never been thoroughly reviewed and amended at all. Two (2) decades and eight (8) years later, the effectiveness and appropriateness of some provisions of the LGC continue to be challenged given changing contexts and environments, specially in the local level.

In this light, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and in collaboration with the Senate Committee on Local Government, partnered with the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) and its component members - League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), and League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) in the conduct of a National Consultative Workshop toward the revision of the LGC. The consultation, which was conducted on October of 2017, was intended to specifically tap benefit from the LGUs perspective as the front liners of the government on the ground and shepherd support for amendment proposals focused on salient components like the financial provisions, barangay reforms, and clarifications on devolved roles and responsibilities.

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ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016 - 2019

The event was participated in by more than 200 attendees from the local government sector, national government agencies, members of the national legislature, policy experts and other concerned stakeholders.

Since 2015, the DILG and ADB have been in collaboration to lead the substantive review of the LGC, specifically covering fiscal provisions in Book II, under the “Local Government Fiscal Decentralization Reform Program�. Then, DILG continued pursuing the review of the LGC complementing and integrating with that being undertaken by the Senate Committee on Local Government TWGs on Books I, II and III. In the end, the proposed amendments to the LGC, which gained full, wide-spread support from various stakeholders and those that needed further in-depth study were compiled by the DILG and ADB review team.

Moreover, some of the challenges and issues raised were identified and categorized according to the following key components: 1. LGU conversion and creation; 2. Devolved responsibilities under Section 17 of the Code; 3. Inter-local cooperation; 4. Planning and local public financial management; 5. LGU shares in national wealth and taxes; 6. Taxation and revenue generation; 7. Credit financing; and 8. Barangay administration.

These challenges and issues were translated into legislative proposals which have secured consensus and full support from the participating stakeholders.

The proposed bills were subsequently transmitted to the Senate Committee on Local Government, chaired

by Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny� Angara, to submit the same to the crucible of legislative scrutiny for any possible refinements and perfecting amendments, to wit: 1. Enhancing public-financial management in LGUs 2. Enhancing taxing powers of LGUs 3. Providing business-friendly tax remedies in LGUs 4. Rationalizing credit financing to LGUs 5. Reducing the cost of doing business in LGUs 6. Simplifying local taxes to enhance tax compliance 7. Enhancing inter-LGU cooperation 8. Updating the requisites for creating LGUs 9. Enhancing the share of LGUs in internal revenue taxes 10. Enhancing the use of national wealth in local development 11. Rationalizing the functional assignments of LGUs To find out the breath and scope of efforts in the Legislative Branch to change and update certain provisions of the LGC, ULAP conducted an armchair policy research on the bills filed seeking amendment of the LGC during the 17th Congress. Among them are on the following areas: 1. Share of LGUs in the National Taxes One major, undying clamor of LGUs is the insufficiency of funds being allocated to them, especially the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), to finance operational costs of the powers and functions devolved to them by the LGC. Add to this is the numerous unfunded mandates imposed to them by other statutes and issuances. Certainly, local officials face a great challenge on how to efficiently and effectively deliver public services and implement development programs and projects to benefit their constituents. This is the dilemma that is intended to be addressed by the proposed measures to increase the share of LGUs in national taxes from 40% to 50% or 60% and broaden the base of the computation to include all taxes.

3. Inter-LGU Cooperation Though the LGC recognizes that certain local issues and development concerns go beyond the boundary of an LGU and cut across multiple municipalities, cities or provinces, LGUs are constrained to further maximize inter-LGU mechanism to address common challenges like solid waste management, environmental protection and road infrastructures. They are not allowed, by law, to formalize a legal personality for a venture, thus hampering their capacity to contract credit financing for the said venture. Because of this, a bill was filed to enhance interLGU cooperation by allowing them to bind in a mutual agreement and form an alliance with legal personality.

4. Utilization of the Special Education Fund (SEF) Many local officials have consistently pointed out that the provision of Section 272 of the LGC on the allocation of SEF is too restrictive and is no longer responsive to the needs of the times and of the stakeholders. To answer this concern, there were proposals to expand the application of the SEF to include other expense items like payment of salaries, allowances and benefits of teaching and non-teaching personnel, operation of non-formal education programs (e.g. Alternative Learning System [ALS]), professional development of teachers, acquisition of school sites, procurement of teaching aids and other instructional materials, and support to parent-teachers associations.

Upon the commencement of the 18th Congress and the organization of the Local Government Committee in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, ULAP intends to hit the ground running in championing some of the most urgent amendments to the LGC, independent of the campaign to shift to a federal form of government should the window for such transition open up.

With the bigger slice in the pie of government resources, LGUs are expected to ensure efficient and effective delivery of basic services, enhance their capability to generate income and to run local economic enterprises, and improve financial housekeeping.

2. LGU Conversion and Creation

(Left) Former Senator and DILG Secretary Joey Lina and (Right) Senator Sonny Angara deliver their speech during the event.

There were also moves in the legislature to change the prerequisites before an LGU can be created or converted into another type. This is to update and rationalize the requirements for the conversion or declaration of various kinds of LGUs, particularly in the aspect of income and land area.

ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016-2019

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Local Government Empowerment In pursuit of full local autonomy and fiscal decentralization as integral components of its institutional commitment and vision, ULAP immersed itself into the ongoing national debate towards a revised Constitution and the contemplated shift to the federal form of government.

This decision to actively engage policy actors on the matter was specially prompted by the fact that no less than President Rodrigo Roa Duterte – a former local chief executive (LCE) and a former member of ULAP – had taken the cudgel with credibility and sincerity, for and on behalf of the subnational government.

Thus, the initial collective step taken by ULAP and the individual member-leagues was to actively lock horns with all sectoral talking heads by nominating via a formal National Executive Board (NEB) Resolution three (3) of its best Board Officers to the Consultative Committee created by the PRRD via Executive Order No. 10 dated 07 December 2016. Unfortunately, such collective enthusiasm was doused with cold water and the duly-constituted Consultative Committee (ConCom) proceeded to draft the new Constitution without a sitting member from the local government leagues. When the ConCom churned out its work output, ULAP organized a Special Consultative Meeting with the framers of the draft Constitution on 15 February 2018. Sadly, ULAP found the ConCom proposed federalism model direly lacking the local government perspective that would have made it acceptable to LGUs. As frontliners on the ground and the primary beneficiary of the contemplated federalism, the local government through ULAP moved to consider its courses of action.

There are three options for strategic intervention:

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1. To launch the Federalism NOW Movement to spearhead the review of the draft Constitution and the crafting of a federalism model more attuned to the aspirations and realities on the ground. This is intended to rally the ranks of LGUs behind the President’s federalism initiative during a contemplated ULAP General Assembly to be convened for the purpose, with all the local government leagues as co-founders. As originally planned, the ULAP-NEB will serve as the Movement’s Steering Committee that will provide direction for the Movement and inspire groundswell of popular support, while a National Advocacy Group (NAG) will be created to facilitate consensus thru consultation and at the same time, to shepherd the official stand of LGUs. NOW refers to the urgency of actualizing local autonomy, and the acronym stands for National Organizing and Working Movement.

2. To petition via People’s Initiative amendments to Sections 5, 6, 7, and 8 of Article X of the Constitution with the single objective of bringing local and fiscal autonomy into immediate fruition.

Without prejudice to the subsequent full-scale revision of the Constitution, ULAP maintains that the strengthening of local government leaders and local fiscal capacity is a non-negotiable and an urgent objective considering its paramount importance (a) as core essential element of federalism per se, (b) as pillar of fully-functioning, self-governing units of the subnational government, and (c) as cushion to the impact of the anticipated federalization of LGUs. Thus, the proposed amendments, as originally intended, are as follows:

▶▶ Revised Section 5 to read: “Each local government unit shall have the power to create its own sources of revenues and to levy taxes, fees, and charges PROVIDED THAT THE GUIDELINES AND LIMITATIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATION, IMPLEMENTATION, COLLECTIONS, DISBURSEMENTS AND SHARING AMONG LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS OF SUCH TAXES, FEES, AND CHARGES SHALL BE DETERMINED BY THE PROVINCES, OR AUTONOMOUS REGIONS, OR HIGHLY URBANIZED CITIES, OR INDEPENDENT COMPONENT CITIES WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE TERRITORY.”

Power Sharing. Thereafter, ULAP has been in constant engagement with the IATF towards threshing out issues and concerns about the draft federalism components of the proposed revised Constitution, and hopefully arriving at a consensus.

▶▶ Revised Section 6 to read: “Local government units shall have a just share, [as determined by law,] in ALL NATIONAL TAXES, WHICH SHALL NOT BE LESS THAN FIFTY PERCENT (50%) OF TOTAL COLLECTIONS BASED ON THE SECOND YEAR PRECEDING THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, AND which shall be automatically released to them.” ▶▶ Revised Section 7 to read: “Local governments shall be entitled to an equitable share in the proceeds of the utilization and development of the national wealth within their respective areas, WHICH SHALL NOT BE LOWER THAN FIFTY PERCENT (50%) OF TOTAL COLLECTIONS IN THE PRECEDING YEAR, AND THE PROVINCES, AUTONOMOUS REGIONS, HIGHLY URBANIZED CITIES, AND INDEPENDENT COMPONENT CITIES SHALL ALSO HAVE THE CONTROL, SUPERVISION AND ADMINISTRATION OF ALL NATIONAL RESOURCES AND WEALTH WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE TERRITORIES.” ▶▶ Revised Section 8 to read: “The term of office of elective local officials INCLUDING BARANGAY OFFICIALS shall be FOUR years and no such official shall serve for more than three (3) consecutive terms. Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of the time shall not be considered as an interruption in the continuity of his service for the full term for which he was elected.”

3. To participate in the deliberations of the InterAgency Task Force (IATF) on Federalism and Constitutional Reforms. Said TF was created by the President via Memorandum Circular No 52, dated October 31, 2018 and chaired by the DILG Secretary. Specifically, it is mandated to integrate, harmonize and coordinate efforts in consultation with stakeholders, NGAs and civil society as it initiates a process of addressing the roadblocks to constitutional reform.

To-date, ULAP has convened a series of study sessions with the member-leagues to distill a collective stand on every provision of the draft that impinges on local government. The focus given to Federal State Structure, Fiscal Power and Financial Administration, and ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016-2019

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In Defense of What’s Rightfully LGU Share: Bitter-Sweet Victory On 10 April 2019, after six long years of legal battle, the Supreme Court ruled with finality in favor of the local government!

Throughout the fight, ULAP stood side-by-side with the Petitioners in the cases.

In a formal ceremony on 09 August 2018, ULAP presented its Board Resolution No. 2018-11 to Governor Hermilando Mandanas of Batangas, expressing its collective sense of “appreciation and deep gratitude for courageously initiating and steadfastly enduring the legal battle” leading to the SC landmark decision.

A similar copy thereof would be presented to the bereaved wife of the late Congressman Enrique “Tet” Garcia Jr. and a separate copy to incumbent Congressman Jose Enrique “Joet” Garcia III. Governor Bichara expressed his personal admiration for his steadfast and relentless effort to secure a judicial clarification on the matter, even as he quipped that while local government may celebrate because the Supreme Court ruled favorably, the implementation of that judicial ruling may not be immediately executory because the Executive Branch would need time to manage its fiscal impact nationally.

Bleeding Hearts, Busted Coffers Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas was invited guest during the 89th Meeting of the National Executive Board (NEB) when he pointed that since 1992, the DBM had been computing the IRA for LGUs based on national internal revenue collected by the BIR, which excluded taxes collected by the Bureau of Customs as BIR agent. This situation prompted him and the late Bataan 2nd District Congressman Enrique “Tet” Garcia, Jr. to file in July 2012 separate petitions before the Supreme Court docketed as “Congressman Hermilando I. Mandanas, et al versus Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa, Jr., et al (GR No. 199802) and Honorable Enrique T. Garcia, Jr. versus Honorable Paquito N. Ochoa, Jr. et al (GAR No. 208488) invariably questioning the manner of computing the just share in the national taxes of the LGUs. The two petitions were eventually consolidated on 22 October 2013. After the demise of Congressman Garcia, his son Jose Enrique Garcia III who took over his post in the House of Representatives, substituted as petitioner under a resolution dated 23 August 2016.

Protracted Battle for Entitlements The landmark Supreme Court decision on the cases of Mandanas et al. v Ochoa and Garcia v Ochoa ruled by prescribing the correct computation of the IRA share of the LGUs. The main issue was the “determination of the manner in which the just share in the national taxes of the LGUs has been computed.” The decision averred that the share of the LGUs should be computed based on all the national taxes and not on the national internal revenue taxes alone. Moreover, decision emphatically “commands the automatic release without need of further action” of the correctly computed corresponding amount through their respective provincial, city, municipal, or barangay treasurers, as the case may be, “on a quarterly basis but not beyond five (5) days from the end of each quarter”. In the words of Gov. Mandanas, the erroneous computation perpetrated by the national agencies may be construed to constitute “technical

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malversation” in contravention of the mandated “devolution of resources from the National Government to the LGUs” under the Local Government Code. Furthermore, he stressed that local autonomy as the essence of Federalism was undermined by the failure of the National Government to share its powers and resources to its Local Government Units.

On closer look, the SC ruling was founded on Section 284 of Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991 which provides that “LGUs shall have a just share as determined by law in the National Taxes which will be automatically released to them.” Thus, the SC ordered the Finance and Budget Secretaries, the Custom and BIR Commissioners and the National Treasurer to include all collections of national taxes in the computation of the just share of the LGUs. In addition, the judiciary directed the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs, and their deputized collecting agencies to certify all national tax collections, pursuant to Article 378 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA No. 7160. Consequently, it emphasized that earmarking was not the same as withholding as it was mentioned by other concurring opinions on the case.

Anticipated Delay in Podium Ceremony Considering the repercussions of the SC ruling, there was apprehension that the national government would not easily accept the order, much less hook-line-and-sinker because any increased revenue allocation accruing to the local governments would mean a commensurate decrease in the operational budget for the national bureaucracy and its programs. Upon verification, it was confirmed that the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) had filed a Motion for Reconsideration (MR) which, aside from seeking to undo the SC declaration of unconstitutionality on the use of the phrase “internal revenue” in Section 284 of the LGC. Moreover, the MR insisted by way of seeking a judicial clarification that the prospective application of the SC decision should mean that the LGUs would start receiving the adjusted share not earlier than year 2022. Gov. Mandanas maintained that ideally, this deficiency in the implementation of law should be cured retroactively from 1992 but the Supreme Court willed that it should be prospective and should start only upon effectivity of the judicial decision.

Scheduled Awarding in 3-Years yet After the Supreme Court decision rejected the National Government’s motion for reconsideration, Spokesperson Brian Keith Hosala clarified that the adjusted amounts of the IRA of the LGUs was deemed effective only after the finality of the ruling of the Court. However, the SC considered the suggestion of the Solicitor General the adjusted amount given to LGUs starting with the 2022 budget cycle as “well taken”, even as it further referred to Section 284 of the Local Government Code, which provides that the just share should be based on all national taxes collected on the “third year preceding, the SC Spokesperson he pointed out that the adjusted amounts will then be released to LGUs only in 2022 or three years from this year, 2019.

Mentoring the Fledgling Youth Sector about Fund Management and Accountability Following the 14 May 2018 Sangguniang Kabataan and Barangay Elections, pursuant to Republic Act 10952, the first set of youth sector representatives under the SK Reform Law assumed office side-by-side with Barangay officials. Soon enough, there were queries about the nittygritty of running youth affairs. Upon motion made by Liga ng mga Barangay (LNB) President Faustino “Inno” Dy V, jointly with League of Vice-Governors of the Philippines Chairperson Humerlito Dolor, ULAP interceded on behalf of the youth sector via Board Resolution 2018-18 to request for guidelines on the utilization of the SK Funds.

Subsequently, DBM-DILG-NYC Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 1, series of 2019 was issued with dispatch. This is called “Guidelines on the Appropriation, Release, Planning and Budgeting Process for the SK Funds” which has the following salient features: 1. The issuance provides for the guidelines on the appropriation and release of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Fund, and for the planning and budgeting process of the SK and emphasizes the concomitant posting requirements to enhance transparency and accountability.

2. For the appropriation of the SK Fund by the Barangay: a.

The Punong Barangay to include the ten percent (10%) of the general fund accruing to the SK in the barangay executive budget to be submitted for budget authorization of the Sangguniang Barangay. b.

For budget preparation purposes, the Barangay Treasurer shall inform, in writing, the SK Chairperson and the SK Treasurer on or before the 15th day of September of the estimated ten percent (10%) of the general fund for the ensuing fiscal year.

3. The SK funds shall be automatically released by the barangay to the SK and shall not be subject to any lien or holdback. The SK shall open a current account in the name of the SK in a bank, preferably government owned and the same bank and branch of its barangay. The SK funds shall be deposited by the barangay not later than five (5) working days after the crediting of the monthly IRA share of the barangay.

4. In consultation with the Katipunan ng Kabataan, the SK shall formulate a 3-year rolling plan to be known as the Comprehensive Barangay Youth Development Plan (CBYDP), which will serve as the basis of the Annual Barangay Youth Investment

Program (ABYIP). The ABYIP shall be prepared and approved by the SK through a resolution before the preparation of the SK annual budget.

5. The SK Chairperson, with the assistance of the SK Treasurer, shall prepare the SK annual budget consisting the estimates of income and expenditure program, which shall prioritize youth development and empowerment programs, projects and activities.

6. The SK shall deliberate on the proposed annual/ supplemental budget and shall pass a resolution approving the same. For the annual budget, the resolution shall be passed before the beginning of the ensuing year. Such resolution shall be posted in the barangay bulletin board and in at least three (3) conspicuous places within the barangay, not later than five (5) days after its approval.The SK Secretary shall submit the SK annual/supplemental budget to the Sangguniang Panlungsod or Sangguniang Bayan, through the Local Budget Officer, within ten (10) days upon approval.

7. The Sangguniang Panlungsod or Sangguniang Bayan shall review the annual/supplemental budget of the SK within sixty (60) days upon receipt and may render the following review actions: a.

Declare operative in its entirety; b.

Declare operative in its entirety, subject to conditions; c.

Declare inoperative in its entirety; and d.

Declare inoperative in part.

Failure on the part of the Sangguniang Panlungsod or Sangguniang Bayan to review within the prescribed period shall render the submitted annual/supplemental budget deemed approved.

8. All payments out of the SK fund shall be made through Disbursement Vouchers. Disbursements shall be made by issuing checks drawn against the current account in the name of the SK with the SK Chairperson and SK Treasurer as the official signatories. Unexpended balance in the SK budget shall revert to the general fund of the SK at the end of the fiscal year, and shall not thereafter be available for expenditure without the subsequent approval of the SK. The SK Chairperson, with the assistance of the SK Treasurer and SK Secretary, shall prepare the budget accountability reports as may be prescribed by the Commission of Audit (COA).

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PROGRAM INITIATIVES TOWARDS ENHANCED SERVICE DELIVERY

911 Hotline and Emergency Call Centers: Building the Infrastructure for Quick Response Executive Order No. 56 was issued by the President on 25 May 2018 institutionalizing the Emergency 911 Hotline as the nationwide emergency answering point. In line with this, LGUs are enjoined to establish and run local 911 call centers within their area of jurisdiction using their own funds but placed under the technical and operational supervision of the DILG-based National Call Center.

out the mandate of the Commission. As a policymaking body and program overseer, the Emergency 911 Commission was established with membership consisting of 12 national agencies, and aside from ULAP, two other private sector representatives.

Under the said issuance, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have been designated as the primary service responders, while the following are the support service responders: Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Bureau of Immigration (BI), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and LGUs.

As of today, negotiations have been made with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the major telcos toward the commissioning of the number 911 for the purpose and for free-of-charge calls to 911 centers.

Studies are underway to facilitate the smooth transition of existing response command centers in some localities into the Emergency 911 Call Center System and for their respective local call center (LCC) numbers to migrate to the 911 code.

ULAP as Key Partner in the Commission President Rodrigo Roa Duterte gave due recognition to the role of ULAP as keystone to the over-arching design of this emergency response infrastructure. Thus, no less than the ULAP National President sits as a member, representing the local government units (LGUs), in the Emergency 911 Commission. Moreover, acknowledging the need to extend special assistance to LGUs and to understand the political dynamics at the subnational level, ULAP has been designated Chair of the Committee to take charge of Administration and Finance in carrying

Authority to Operate LCCs

LGUs applying for the establishment of a Local Call Center (LCC) must comply with the following requirements: ▶▶

▶▶

▶▶

▶▶

Letter of Intent addressed to DILG Secretary/ Chairman of Emergency 911 Commission in coordination with ULAP; Proposed legal, administrative, operational and technical document and system architecture in conformity with the 911 specifications and standards; Request for the conduct of basic call handling training and emergency telecommunicator’s certification course; and Notice of Activation or GO-LIVE of the Emergency 911 System.

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Localized Peace Talks: Capitalizing on Community Leadership The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) strongly supports the national government decision to localize the peace process with the remaining small pockets of insurgent forces subsisting particularly in the outskirts, still entrapped in an outdated ideological cause that has long been lost.

and other peace incentives; Local Peace Package – direct availment/ awarding of government peace incentives; and Confidential Dialogues – initial coordinative work with potential surrenderees without open documentation.

ULAP Taking an Offical Stand

Official Issuance Enjoining Local Support

This was the message given on behalf of ULAP by its Secretary General and Chairman of the Philippine Councilors League (PCL) Danilo Dayanghirang, Councilor of Davao City, during a joint DILG-PNP-ULAP Press Conference at the NAPOLCOM Building on 26 March 2019 in connection with the national campaign to stop the flow of terrorist financing and to open local avenues for negotiated peace and the return to the folds of the law.

A Department of National Defense (DND) and DILG Joint Memorandum Circular was issued dated 05 July 2018 to provide the implementing guidelines for the package of assistance for former rebels and militia ng bayan.

Accordingly, the Program is locally-driven, managed and implemented with the Province or Highly Urbanized City as the focal point of authority and management of the integration program. More importantly, the LGU as the service provider/ implementor may access assistance from the national government in the form and manner as follows: Construction of a Halfway House/Receiving Facility, provided that the LGU will donate the land for the facility and the LGU is responsible in the maintenance and management of the facility; otherwise, if land is not available, the fund for the facility can be used to repair an existing government facility which may serve the purpose; and Information and Education Materials for the purpose.

He stressed that the remnants of CPP-NPA and other rebel forces who continue to hold out in far-flung areas in contravention of the prevailing peace and order in the country have been blinded by their ideologies in spite of the socioeconomic headway of the country.

By the same breadth, Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, when he briefed the ULAP National Executive Board during its 90th Meeting, explained that while the peace talks at the national level remains suspended, the government remains committed to continuously pursue genuine and enduring peace agreement with local armed groups by undertaking with flexibility and guided by certain principles, any or all of the four (4) types of Localized Peace Engagements (LPEs), to wit: ▶▶

▶▶

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▶▶

▶▶

Localized Peace Talks – formal talks at the regional and provincial levels Community Dialogue – regular informal open communication line and liaising network to facilitate peace package

ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016 - 2019

However, the policy framework and operational structure for localized peace engagements with local communist terrorist groups (CTGs) is still in the drafting stage. Suffice it to say at this point, that per DILG guidance, peace talks at the national level may resume only on the following conditions: ▶▶ Peace talks to be held in the country; ▶▶ No coalition government or power sharing agenda; ▶▶ No revolutionary taxation activities; and ▶▶ Confinement of CTGs within mutually agreed encampment area.

Photo Courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/PhilippineEITI/photos/a.1551458764959008/1551459288292289/?type=3&theater

ULAP Pushes the Envelop for Open Governance The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) is a firm believer and advocate of open governance; it champions transparency, accountability, innovation and people’s participation as hallmarks of effective governance in various forums. Over the last three years, efforts have been intensified and focused on cascading best practice models to LGUs all over the country towards inspiring and capacitating local government officials to take actions for the mainstreaming of these principles.

Various collaborative endeavors have been undertaken towards these ends.

Multilateral Initiative for Improved Governance The Open Government Partnership (OGP)1 is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments for government and non-government sectors to promote transparency, empowerment of citizens, accountability and fight against corruption, and innovation & leveraging technology to strengthen governance.

PH-OGP Steering Committee ULAP is the local government representative to the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) National Steering Committee which includes the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Cabinet Secretary (CABSEC), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and NGO/academe. As member of the committee, ULAP has put forward the thematic discourse based on the grassroots experienced both at the national and international level discussions.

At a recent meeting of PH-OGP National Steering Committee, it was disclosed that in the progress report submitted by an Independent Third Party Review of the National Action Plan for the period 2015-2017, ULAP was singularly commended for being one of the prime-movers of open government reforms, the success of which has been attributed to ULAP as follows:

It was launched in 2011 to provide an international platform for domestic reformers committed towards making their governments more open, accountable and responsive to citizens. The Philippines is one of the nine (9) founding members of OGP and one of more than seventy (70) participating countries in the initiative to date. In all of these countries, government and civil society are working together to develop and implement open government reforms.

(1) Commitment No. 2: for the promotion of transparency in local government plans and budgets – which is basically increasing public access to financial documents/ transactions of LGUs and the intended result is the culture of transparency built thru regular public disclosure of key financial documents. Public access to information is a pre-requisite to effective citizen engagement.

For more information or queries about the OGP- Philippines, please visit their website at https://www.opengovpartnership.org/members/philippines/ or email the OGP Secretariat, thru Ms. Marian Fabian, Senior Technical Staff, Fiscal Planning and Reforms Bureau, Department of Budget and Management at m.fabian@dbm.gov.ph.

(2) Commitment No. 6: for the marked increase in the participation of CSO in local poverty reduction budget planning, particularly referring to adoption of bottom-up budgeting or BuB.

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(3) Commitment No. 9: for the enhanced performance benchmarks for local governance. The said IRM Report wrote: “the awareness campaign of the ULAP helped in generating local government participation”.

This year, the thrust is localization of all OGP initiatives in order to achieve concrete impact and real outcomes from open government reforms; national governments around the world are taking a sub-national direction in terms of program development and implementation thru harmonization of national and local strategies and operationalization of national programs at the local government level.

PH-Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative For the 4th National Action Plan 2017-2019, the Philippines is currently implementing fourteen (14) commitments.

Among the 14 commitments, the Philippines has been continuously pushing for effective implementation to improve the transparency and increase the accountability in extractive industries. Thus, the Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (PH-EITI)2 was launched as a special program of the Department of Finance (DOF) that, since its initial roll-out in 2012, has become a recognized standard for transparency in the local government annuity of revenues from the gas, oil and mining sectors. At the same time, it has transformed into an effective platform for sustained dialogue and tripartite collaboration among government, civil society organizations and extractive industries.

This year’s campaign has been aimed at pushing the “initiative” further by mainstreaming EITI principles, process and gains using various models-including the ULAP designed multi-sectors engagement model- into the larger scheme of national resource governance reform agenda. With focused commitment, the EITI-MSG is pushing for the integration, if not institutionalization of data disclosure and dialogue into local government systems and development process.

with the partner agencies, hope to provide a venue to discuss the issues and concerns of the LGUs relative to extractive sector with the end view of facilitating policy recommendations to enhance PH-EITI strategic plan of action.

As of this date, legislation is likewise being pushed as a way moving forward to institutionalize EITI standards of open and accountable governance in the extractive industries. In its current form, the proposed bill provides that failure of government agencies to comply with the regulatory requirements may constitute a ground for disciplinary action against the responsible officers/ pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Code of 1987.

Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) Approach In February 2016, ULAP won Gold Prize at the Global Innovation Competition held in Ghana, Africa for its entry project design, entitled, “Increasing Transparency in Extractive Industries in the Sub-national Level through the Use of Context Specific Technology-based Platforms

by Multi-Stakeholder Group” (Details of the winning project design may be accessed via https://www.ulap. net.ph/resources/accomplishment-reports.html).

As part of the recognition, said project received a financial grant for its implementation, with the support of Making All Voices Count – Hivos International (MAVC-Hivos). As an innovative approach in the conduct of transparency initiatives at the local level, its project design supports a multi-stakeholder engagement approach which provides an avenue for localization of the decision-making and agenda-setting in the project sites. Initial project sites were the Provinces of Palawan, Agusan del Sur and Benguet, hosts of heavy concentration of mining activities.

Ostensibly, the aim is to promote transparency and accountability in extractive industries; enhance participation in policy-making towards sustainable

ULAP is a member of the Multi-Stakeholders group (MSG) of PH-EITI, pursuant to Executive Order No, 147, s. 2013. A series of regional roadshows were conducted to mainstream the commitments of PH-EITI. The purpose of the roadshows are: (a) To present the findings of the report to the LGUs, CSOs, and minerals, coal, oil and gas industries and gather feedback from the stakeholders; (b) To communicate the gaps in the existing systems based on the report and discuss possible plans on how to address these gaps; (c) To discuss how the EITI process can be used as a tool to strengthen the local governance of the extractive industry; and, (d) To present a model of subnational EITI implementation that LGUs can implement. Through the roadshows, ULAP together For more details regarding PH-EITI, visit their website at https://eiti.org/ philippines 2

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Photo Courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/PhilippineEITI/photos/a.1573384399433111/1573385339433017/?type=3&theater

development; strengthen citizen engagement among concerned local stakeholders; encourage social investment by citizens in their role as key players in the EITI process; forward multi stakeholder collaboration in local governance; and to facilitate info-mediation for the improvement of revenue generation at national and local levels. The Project Implementation period was June 2016 to July 2017.

Governance Through Open Legislation3 However, it was observed that stakeholders had limited influence in shaping the Philippine OGP commitments in the National Action Plan (NAP). Which means that local stakeholders have superficial ownership of the initiative which translates to poor prospects for the sustainability of NAP commitments.

Hence, a joint project was designed, entitled: “Strengthening Meaningful Civil Society and Local Government Partnerships in the Open Government” (details of the project design and implementation may be accessed via https://www.ulap.net.ph/resources/ accomplishment-reports.html). This project is a collaborative scale-up of the projects implemented by three organizations – Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in East Asia and the Pacific (ANSA-EAP), International Center for Innovation, Transformation, and Excellence in Governance (INCITE-GOV), and ULAP. The focus of ULAP was on evidence policymaking, which may lead to the development of governance prototypes to reflect the directions of a Local Action Plan. From ULAP perspective, this was necessary for the local communities and stakeholders to benefit from a more transparent, accountable and participatory governance set-up. The Project Team worked with the Province of Bohol, and Municipalities of Alicia, Tubigon and Trinidad in a series of dialogues and capacity building workshops from September 2016 to August 2017. Capacitating the local government units and strengthening their knowhow on OGP was a key factor that can enhance the influence of the local stakeholders in the local decisionmaking process.

Following the recommendations gathered during the actual project workshops, the Project Team designed an Open Legislation Mentoring Training activity dedicated for the members of the legislative body of the aforementioned LGU participants. A mechanism to improve open legislation was proposed using modern technology and social media appropriate to their context.

Civil Society Organizations were also invited to provide non-government and community perspective.

The diagram, showing the project components, provides the general overview on the direction that the project took and what aspects in the local and national level were to be corrected, consequently addressing the little influence of the local stakeholders in the crafting of the co-created NAP and in the OGP Partnership, in general.

Parallel to the conduct of the Open Legislation Training with the partner LGUs, the project team, through the network of INCITEGov in the OGP Steering Committee, has successfully included the Open Legislation Initiative in the OGP Commitments for National Action Plan 2017-2019. Furthermore, through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), a collaboration was forged on August 15, 2017 between the implementing LGUs, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and ULAP. Commitment No. 12 under the National Action Plan for 20182020 puts premium on the creation of more spaces for citizen engagement to improve local legislative process.

The ULAP model for multi-stakeholder engagement in policy and legislation has since evolved and has been referred to simply as “Open Legislation Model”, the first OGP subnational commitment. By leveraging technology through an online platform, especially thru social media, the citizen’s interest in legislation is projected to improve along with participation in decision-making and exchange of views with official policy-makers.

For this year, the plan is for the ULAP Model to be replicated in the City of Legaspi in Albay, as well as in municipalities in Surigao del Norte and again in Bohol.

As of this writing, the Open Legislation, initiated by ULAP and other stakeholders, has been receiving positive reviews by international stakeholders and partners as a potential model of sub-national commitment to the OGP, that is worthy of replication by other countries.

For more information about the project, contact the ULAP Secretariat at (02) 7171810 or email ulapnatsec@gmail.com.

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Reengineering Sub-National Processes to Reinforce Reform Initiatives Over the past years, local government units (LGUs) have been struggling to keep abreast of the latest technology and to keep up with rapid modernization, in the face of limited socio-economic resources and shortage of skilled personnel. In as much as modernization and automation occupy the high spots in their development agenda to be at par with the global standards, their hands are tied by strict rules and regulations imposed by the governing and regulatory authorities, not to mention, the unfunded mandates downloaded from the central agencies to LGUs for implementation and compliance.

As the umbrella organization of all the leagues of local government units and locally elected government officials, ULAP is continuously in pursuit of the attainment of its mission and vision to forward genuine local autonomy and become an instrument for policy, program and socioeconomic reforms. To supplement the statement, ULAP’s mandate is to bridge and connect the local governments, with the help of all memberleagues, to the opportunities offered by the national government agencies (NGAs), private sectors, civil society organizations (CSOs) and international partners.

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY COALITION Adopting the Open Government Partnership (OGP) platform, ULAP has worked with other concerned partners/ stakeholders, in conducting the Innovative Solutions to Open Government Partnerships (ISOGP) event in February 2015, as a follow through event to the

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ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016 - 2019

Good Governance Dialogues (GGD) Regional Fora in 2014, purposely to localize and mainstream the country’s commitments to OGP. Through ISOGP event, the creation of the Innovative Technology Coalition for OGP (ITOGP) was concretized.

The said coalition, which consists of concerned NGAs, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and private sectors, was formed to assist not only the local government units but also the concerned agencies to mitigate the issues and concerns raised during the GGD Fora. It was identified that one of the gaps in achieving the LGU’s role in mainstreaming the reforms is the lack of innovation and technology-based solutions, specifically capacity and resource on the ground, which should be institutionalized.

Likewise, this is envisioned to be a coalition of multisector representatives that will supply technologybased innovative solutions to the LGUs, and implement continuous outreach and networking campaigns, to help meet OGP commitments and enhance LGU delivery of basic social services and governance.

COLLABORATIVE ENGAGEMENTS The collaboration among coalition members paved the way for a stronger partnership and continuous engagements. Hence, series of activities and projects have emanated from the collaboration, one of which is the ICT Fora.

ICT FORA For 3 consecutive years since 2015, ULAP has been spearheading the ICT Fora (https://www.ulap.net.ph/ resources/accomplishment-reports.html), in coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), development partners, private sectors and other stakeholders. This is an annual event organized to rally the local government units to excellence through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). On top of that is to promote the advocacy of streamlining the issuance of permits at the local level for speedy and prompt services, in line with the agenda of President Duterte. These forums also served as an avenue to showcase best practices of LGUs on ICT-related programs and projects and its impact to their economy.

Above that, private sectors are given opportunities to promote their available innovative solutions that may aid the LGUs in enhancing their systems and operations.

ULAP-LGU INFO-DATA LINK Since the conduct of ISOGP event in 2015, Microsoft Philippines, Inc. has been one of the key partners of ULAP to ensure that the reforms on technology will be mainstreamed in the local government units and address the gaps identified during the series of dialogues with the stakeholders and local actors. On top of these, Microsoft has been in support of ULAP policy and program initiatives and advocacies, such as the ULAP #ParaSaBayan (PSB) Advocacy and localization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in the pursuit of strengthening the capability and capacity of the local chief executives to enhance the delivery of basic services at the ground and subsequently, meet the SDGs. Presently, the partnership is extending to the promotion and policy support work for the ULAP Parasabayan (PSB) Website. From its inception design, the website was primarily intended as an on-line platform to push for policy reforms and network gains towards performance-based incentives and direct downloads of national funds to qualified LGUs. Thus, the PSB Website Portal up until 2018 is served only to connect at most, LGUs and potential local business partners or ICT providers offering technological leverage to local fiscal reforms in key service delivery components such a health, education, local economic development, evidence-based policy-making through technologies, and participatory governance.

Starting this year, a website re-development or revamp process is underway. This is necessary to update the “user-friendly” features of the website portal and make access to the portal a “privileged perk” for ULAP members of good standing. It is envisioned to transform into a One-Stop- Shop that offers varied innovative solutions including technological intervention and provides a compendium of best practices and success models that

may be adapted or replicated to aid in the performance of the different aspects and by strategic sectors of local governance. This project is set to be launched during an ULAP General Assembly that we hope to hold soon.

Momentarily, this online platform will serve as resource hub for all its active members in finding immediate help in terms of relevant information, forging collaborative arrangements and formulating appropriate solutions to current problems faced by the LGUs. REPLICATING INNOVATION INITIATIVES Under the helm of ULAP President Al Francis C. Bichara of Albay, a project is in full swing production and publication to highlight the solution-seeking innovation skills of the LGUs. In reality, there is a deep necessity to spur initiative, creativity and resourcefulness at the local level for development and sustainability that paved the way to the global campaign to eradicate all forms of poverty signified by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Thus, the “Book of Innovators: Best practices for Good Governance at the Grassroots” concept is anchored on the premise on debunking the proverbial misimpression that LGUs are good for nothing without the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA). The focus is to gather narratives about dire situations that have propelled the local leadership and the community in recent past to promote collaboration in the face of adversity and to find a successful pragmatic solution that raised them up from where they were. Any such collective yet locally grown intervention, no matter how innocuous or palliative it may initially seem, deserves to be scrutinized. Through the retelling of heart-rending yet humbling happyending stories, the basics of innovation, ingenuity and resourcefulness are uncovered and shared in a way that may be replicated at the local government level. If not documented for dissemination and replication, these stories of prowess and wisdom may be lost or not made available in the information mainstream at all.

Through meticulous technical documentation of the exemplary stories about LGUs overcoming the adversities or attaining higher levels of public service, it is our hope that this Book will spark a great amount of interest, initiative and innovation towards a localized approach to SDG campaign; hence the stories are distributed among the 17 SDGs as exemplification of localized best effort therefor.

The Book of Innovators is not simply a local government documentation to magnify beyond life-size the accomplishments of some daring leaders and their constituents; it is rather a compendium of evidencebased, true-to-life narratives that proudly exclaim the many small initiatives have in fact brought bigtime help to people at the community level.

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Photo Courtesy:https://www.facebook.com/TheSGLG/photos/a.1750060335122728/1750060288456066/?type=3&theater

The SGLG Awards and ULAP’s Role in Incentivizing Excellence in Local Governance The SEAL OF GOOD LOCAL GOVERNANCE (SGLG) Award is now being institutionalized via legislation as an incentive, honor, and recognition-based program for all local government units (LGUs), although it is a matter of time before the law finally comes out of the wood-work.

The SGLG traces its beginning back to 2014 as a continuing commitment for LGUs to continually progress and improve its performance. Under the contemplated law, local government performance shall be gauged in terms of : a) upholding the practice of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds; b) preparing for challenges brought by unpredictable natural calamities; c) demonstrating the readiness to help and sensitivity to the needs of vulnerable and marginalized sectors of the society; d) setting-up, implementing and sustaining health policies and programs that would strengthen and promote the well-being, healthy lifestyle and safety of the public, ensuring that all individuals especially the vulnerable have fair opportunities for better health; e) instituting education reforms and programs to improve the quality of education in the country; f) encouraging pro-competitive policies and government interventions that promote market efficiency and consumer welfare; g) protecting constituents from threats to life and damage to property; h) safeguarding the integrity of the environment through adaptive social responsibility; and, i) conserving local culture and heritage as well as fostering their value and significance for tourism opportunity.

However, to receive a coveted award, an LGU must meet all the standards set under each of the 10 core areas of governance, to wit: 1. Good Fiscal or Financial Administration or Financial Stability – LGUs accountability and transparency given accounting and auditing standards;

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2.

Disaster Preparedness – LGUs readiness for any disaster, or natural or man-made calamity, by taking proactive actions and capacity building to provide emergency actions when needed;

3. Social Protection and Sensitivity Program- L GU’s sensitivity and responsiveness to the needs of its constituents particularly those belonging to the vulnerable or disadvantaged sectors,

such as women, children, indigenous people, elderly, and PWDS. 4.

Health Compliance and Responsiveness - L G U provides concrete and hands-on action that elevates the status, awareness, preparedness, and responsiveness in delivering itshealth services;

5. Programs for Sustainable Education - LGU initiatives to institute reforms and programs aimed at improving the quality of education in the country; 6.

Business Friendliness and CompetitivenessLGU’s unconventional initiative in encouraging local investment, together with local business enterprises and the working sector, through the adoption of policies, programs, systems, structures and/or local legislation in order to support and promote a business climate conducive to sustainable business growth;

7.

Safety, Peace and Order - LGU establishes and demonstrates good and respectable performance in terms of maintaining peace and order in the community with the implementation of activities, programs and policies, and the appropriate provision of support mechanisms to ensure the safety and protection of its constituencies from unnecessary threats to life, security and property;

8. Environmental Management- LGU’s initiative to consistently and significantly preserve and protect the integrity of the environment; 9.

Tourism, Heritage Development, Culture and Arts- LGU’s ability to promote and protect local heritage and culture, or local legacy, in terms of preserving the cultural, historical and indigenous significance of the community, marketing the characteristics which the LGU is known or recognized forand attracting foreign and local visitors and tourists to the locality; and,

10. Youth Development – LGU’s ability to promote and establish adequate, effective, responsive and enabling mechanisms as support systems that will ensure the meaningful participation of theyouth in local governance and nation-building.

The proposed act also creates a special account under the GAA called the “SGLG Fund” to pay for the incentives granted to LGUs. The proposed law also stipulates that the SGLG Fund incentives shall not be used for any of the following: a) financing micro credits and loans; b) travel expenses; c) administrative expenses of the LGU, d) purchase, maintenance, or repair of any motor vehicles not directly used for SGLG undertaking; e) salaries, wages, fees, allowances, or overtime pay of employees; f) construction or repair of administrative offices; and g) loan guarantee.

The proposed act also establishes and constitutes the Council of Good Local Governance composed of the following: a) Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); b) Department of Budget and Management (DBM); c) Department of Finance (DOF); d) Department of Health (DOH); e) Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); f) Department of Education (DepEd); g) Department of Tourism (DOT); h) Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); i) Office of the Civil Defense; and j) one representative from the basic sectors to be nominated by the National Anti-Poverty Commission. The DILG chairs the Council and serves as the implementing agency with a DILG appointed Bureau as the Secretariat. ULAP used to sit in the DILG-led Steering Committee but as competition becomes intense it is best that ULAP excused itself this time to obviate the possibility of being accused of playing favorites.

ULAP significantly contributed in the institutionalization of the SGLG as it is similarly instrumental in incorporating the LGU/ Member-Leagues’ perspectives in mainstreaming the SGLG in 81 provinces, 145 cities and 1,489 municipalities. ULAP was also actively involved in the crafting and refinement of the revised criteria aimed at ensuring the LGUs to further improve delivery of services down to the barangays in the countryside.

For this purpose, ULAP pushed more for inclusion of the 42,044 barangays in the 2018 Seal of Good Local Governance for Barangays or the SGLGB. The SGLGB is similarly institutionalized through the DILG as a system of recognition and incentive awards for barangay government and to provide mechanics for possible access to the

performance Challenge Fund (PCF) and other incentive mechanisms available.

The DILG MC No. 2018-194 dated November 6, 2018 on the SGLGB specifies assessment criteria and indicators which include the Core Areas (Peace and Order, Financial Administration, Disaster Preparedness) as well as the Essential Areas (Social Protection, Business-Friendliness and Competitiveness, Environmental Management) given a well-defined structure and composition of assessment teams. The National Quality Committee schedules its online assessment on the first and second quarter of 2019.

For the 2018 awards, the principle “3+1” applies where a Barangay needs to pass ALL of the three (3) Core areas and at least one (1) of Essential areas specified.

ULAP, in harmony with the various Leagues, commits and steps up in helping the Council orchestrate the dissemination of the revised and refined implementation details of the SGLG to the LGUs nationwide. Some of the refinements integrated in the SGLG 2019 provincial, city and municipality criteria are plus 30% of recommendations fully complied with for Good Financial Housekeeping and the inclusion of all quarters in CY 2018 in the compliance with the Full Disclosure Policy of Local Budget and Finances, Bids and Public Offering for the Financial Administration indicator. Disaster Preparedness criteria for provincial, city and municipality now require a convened local DRRMC; a contingency plan for top two high-risk hazard; and at least one LDRRMO officer plantilla, LDRRMO staff trained in Incident Command System. Under the Social Protection, provincial governments are now required that during CY 2018 or 2019, at least 50% of the provincial governmentrun hospitals are PhilHealth accredited; and at least 50% of city government run hospitals are PhilHealth accredited for maternity care package, primary care benefits, and TB-DOTS for CY 2018 or 2019 for cities and municipal governments.

The Peace and Order assessment tool requires provincial, city and municipal governments to pass the Peace and Order Performance Audit rating, while, under the Environmental Management, city and municipal government must convene their local solid waste management board.

It was observed that the number of winners dwindled as the SGLG’s requisites were scaled up in the past year. Given new criteria, LGUs are encouraged to rise to the challenge.

Recipients of 2019 SGLG Awards from the provinces, cities and municipalities will be conferred with the SGLG Marker and will have an eligibility to the Performance Challenge Fund (PCF) to finance their local development initiatives. Even prestigious business organizations such as the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries (PCCI) requires local governments to be SGLG awardees in order to be recipient of the PCCI’s Most Outstanding and Business-Friendly LGU Award. The SGLG eventually entitles and upgrades LGU awardees to better credit worthiness and easy access to capacity development assistance from the DILG as well as from the national government agencies, local funding organizations and other international institutions.

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DILG and ULAP Lead the 25th Silver Anniversary of the Local Government Code (LGC) in 2016 The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), in partnership with the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), organized the 2016 Local Governance Congress as part of the series of activities in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Local Government Code (LGC) of 1991. This was held on October 27, 2016 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel, attended by thousands of local government officials, National Government representatives, civil society organizations, and other development partners.

Carrying the theme “Pagsulong, Progreso, at Pagbabago”, the celebration aimed to deepen understanding and appreciation of the gains from the 25 years of implementing the Local Government Code, with keen interest in the prospects the LGC holds for the future of local governance in the Philippines. It was an occasion to banner the gains and innovations, the significant breakthroughs and exemplary performance of the local government units (LGUs) along with a recognition for the broad contribution of champions of local governance. Needless to say, the activities were all geared towards realizing a genuine and meaningful local autonomy and enabling local governments to attain their fullest development as self-reliant communities and more effective partners in the attainment of national goals.

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The one-day event was comprised of five concurring events highlighted by a celebratory program in the afternoon of the 27th. A portion in the program was a solemn ceremony to formally acknowledge the sterling efforts of the former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel, Jr. and Congressman Hilario de Pedro, the principal authors of the LGC in their respective chamber of Congress, their relentless shepherding through the legislative will and advocacy outside the halls of Congress argued well for the empowerment of LGUs as pillar in nation-building and deepening of peoplecentered democracy.

- Senator Loren Legarda

“

“

As national and local government leaders, we have the moral responsibility to achieve genuine development for the country and our communities.

Former Senator Pimentel, Jr. was represented by his wife, Mrs. Lourdes Pimentel while Rep. Hilario de Pedro, was represented by his family, Aurora, Hilario and Hillary de Pedro. The conferment ceremony was led by then, Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Ismael Sueno together with then ULAP President Gov. Alfonso Umali, Jr. and current League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) President Gov. Ryan Singson, as well as Senator Loren Legarda, who was also the Key Note Speaker during the event.

The event was made even more auspicious because of the launch the Local Government Agenda - the LGU roadmap to genuine local autonomy in response to the call for transition to a Federal form of government. This roadmap was developed as a working draft by ULAP to set a strategic direction for LGUs in their journey to fulfill the thrusts of the Code in the coming years.

Consequently, the program included a commitment signing that symbolized collaboration among the national agencies of both executive and legislative branches, local government sectors, civil society organizations, and other strategic allies for local development.

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Solidifying Convergence to Attain Disaster Resilience Given the demand from the LGUs vis-à-vis the challenges they face in the delivery of their services on DRRM, ULAP and TAF conducted a Round Table Discussion (RTD) to review the local fiscal and capacity support environment for DRRM and increasing the access of LGUs to the NDRRMF. It was attended by stakeholders who built a consensus and mapped-out issues and corresponding suggestions of LGUs, civil society organizations, and national government agencies on DRRM, to firm up the local government agenda for reform in DRRM.

Because of its geographical location and configuration, the Philippines is highly vulnerable to natural hazards and disasters. Since 1990, it has been affected by 565 natural disaster events that have claimed the lives of nearly 70,000 Filipinos. At least 60% of the country’s total land area is exposed to multiple hazards, and 74% of the population is vulnerable to their impact1.

As the umbrella organization of all leagues of local government units (LGUs) and locally elected officials, ULAP is committed to pushing for convergence among national government, local governments, private sector and civil societies in addressing the need for disaster resilience and come up with sensible policies and programs.

STRENGTHENING DRRM FINANCING Under a grant from the Coalitions for Change (CfC) supported by the Australian Embassy - The Asia Foundation (TAF) Partnership in the Philippines, ULAP conducted a series of three (3) local governments fora on the new National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF) guidelines through the “Strengthening DRRM Financing of Local Governments, LGU Roadshows on the New NDRRMF Guidelines” project.

Through the said partnership, ULAP and TAF spearheaded various initiatives in policy discussions and program development with the national government to further strengthen the Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) system in the country. It paved the way for the integration and involvement of LGUs to make DRRM more proactive, in view of increasing resilience and lowering vulnerabilities among them.

1

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Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery

ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016 - 2019

The activity produced recommended solutions from LGUs on DRRM financing, which ULAP elevated for discussion with some national government agencies like the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD). A series of RTDs were then held to identify concrete direction for policy reform and to gather support and further recommendation.

ULAP, being a member agency of the National DRRM Council, continuously lobbied for the issuance of a new and enhanced guidelines on the administration of the NDRRMF, which was developed and eventually approved by the Council as NDRRMC Memorandum Circular 45, series of 2017. It actualizes the intent of Republic Act No. 10121, which is to provide for a simplified, straightforward process in accessing the fund. It enables Regional DRRMCs and LGUs to decide faster and to ensure that projects are responsive to their needs. Further, it institutionalizes regular reporting and monitoring. And finally, through ULAP, it engages the people in the entire process.

This was followed by an opportunity for an information and education campaign to instill understanding upon LGUs officials and encourage their involvement in enhancing the NDRRMF Guidelines. A total of 228 local government officials, local DRRM officers, OCD Regional Directors and representatives of local offices of the national government agencies joined the three (3) local roadshows on the new NDRRMF Guidelines on June 2017 in Iloilo, Isabela and Albay.

FORMALIZING COLLABORATION & VOLUNTEERISM Aside from the rules on the NDRRM Fund, the Council is also issuing the guidelines on accreditation, mobilization and protection of community disaster volunteers to formally acknowledge and properly document the collaboration and the contributions of volunteers both at the local and national levels of DRRM undertakings. This is in recognition of the crucial role volunteers perform in every disaster and in the entire gamut of the country’s DRRM. Based on the guidelines, the accreditation of local and

foreign volunteers, either individuals or organizations, shall be undertaken by the concerned local and regional DRRM Councils based on their place of residence or business address. The mobilization of the accredited community disaster volunteers is the responsibility of the local DRRM Councils.

Subject to availability of funds, the following protection and benefits may be provided by the LGU, national government agency or civil society organization to the accredited volunteers: 1. PhilHealth membership; 2. Free medical services and mental health/ psychosocial support services in government hospitals in case of DRRM operation related injury or sickness; 3. Free legal assistance related to DRRM participation; 4. Accident insurance; and 5. Availability of standard incentives like food, transportation allowance and hazard pay.

DRRM Councils may allocate funds for the payment of personal accident insurance premiums of accredited volunteers, the amount of which shall be standardized.

LGUs may set the maximum number of volunteers to insure annually depending on their financial capacity and subject to the approval of the local sanggunian.

Furthermore, local DRRM Councils has the option also to provide tools, equipment and accessories deemed necessary. The Regional DRRM Councils are mandated to monitor and evaluate the process of volunteer accreditation in the LGUs within their respective areas of responsibility.

INSTITUTIONALIZING DISASTER RESILIENCE ULAP was closely monitoring the program of a proposal towards the institutionalization of disaster resilience in the various levels of the government which was the the objective contained in House Bill No. 8165 or the proposed “Department of Disaster Resilience Act� under the 17th Congress.

The bill proposes the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR), which will be the primary agency accountable, liable and responsible for overseeing and coordinating the preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of disaster and climate change resilience plans, programs, projects and activities.

Moreover, it will create the National Disaster Resilience Council (NDRC), which shall serve as the policy advisory body to the DDR on disaster risk and vulnerability reduction, emergency management and climate change adaptation, and to be chaired by the President. ULAP, the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), the

League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) and the Liga ng mga Barangay (LnB) shall sit as members of the NDRC. There shall also be, in the General Appropriations Act, an amount allotted solely for the use of 3rd to 6th class provinces and municipalities for the purpose of augmenting their Local Disaster Resilience Fund (LDRF).

Compared to the existing requirement of not less than 5% of estimated revenue from regular sources, the bill increases the amount to 7% to be set aside as the LDRF, to be allocated and utilized as follows: 1. 20% for the Quick Response Fund (QRF) 2. 80% for climate change adaptation, disaster risk and vulnerability reduction, prevention, adaptation and mitigation

programs, projects and activities.

Under the bill also, LGUs will be required to submit to DDR monthly statements on the utilization of LDRF. Unexpended LDRF shall accrue to a trust fund solely for the purpose of supporting risk reduction and management, and climate change adaptation activities of the LDRC within the next 2 years.

In terms of human resource, failure to appoint a permanent Local Disaster Resilience Officer, which will be exempted from the Personal Services (PS) ceiling, within 6 months from the date of the enactment shall be deemed a ground for gross neglect of duty by the appointing authority.

Lastly, however, there are two provisions under the proposed legislation that over-ride the LGU authority: 1. Preemptive and forced evacuation. In case of the failure by the local chief executive to appropriately issue an evacuation order, the DDR may take over from the LGU leadership, and forthwith direct and compel the assistance of law enforcement and other relevant national agencies to implement emergency measures.

2. Declaration of State of Calamity and State of Imminent Danger. The DRR may motu propio dec lare a cluster of barangays, municipalities, cities, provinces and regions under a State of Calamity, and the lifting thereof based on certain criteria.

The declaration and lifting of the State of Calamity may also be issued by the local sanggunian, upon the recommendation of the local DRRM Council, based on the results of the damage assessment and analysis.

With all the efforts underway, ULAP will remain to be an active partner of policy makers and program implementors in the quest to realize disaster resilience in the country.

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ULAP Regional Outreach-Advocacy and Sensing Roadshow The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) has been in existence since 1998 and was created to convene and represent its member leagues and local governments to national and sub-national policy and program committees in continuous pursuit of strengthening and capacitating local government units (LGUs) for local autonomy and good governance.

As the umbrella organization of all local government leagues, ULAP has been carrying out its mission of promoting unity among its member leagues, enhancement of partnership with stakeholders toward full and genuine local autonomy for all LGUs, and smooth, efficient delivery of basic services to local communities. Starting in 2011, ULAP has been guided by its convergence framework for the development of policies, projects and programs initiatives for the local government units with all possible partners at the international and national level.

THE ROADSHOW JOURNEY This year, we deem it appropriate and an opportune time to bring ULAP closer to realpolitik via an outreach platform anchored on information dissemination and program advocacy while providing a feedback mechanism to resonate the people’s sentiment on the ground by region around the country. Part of the activity is scanning of the governance terrane of LGUs and documentation of incipient good governance best practices that may be included in the next edition of the Book of Innovators for rapid replication. This is to complement the grassrootsconsultation, consensus-building and inputs-gathering on the current issues and concerns, with the aim of further deepening the relationship between ULAP and its member-LGUs. The entire Roadshow, dubbed as “Regional Outreach-Advocacy and Sensing Roadshow of the ULAP National Secretariat”, undoubtedly provided enriching exposure and opportunity for the ULAP National Secretariat that will implicitly translate to capacity-enhancement for the entire team. At the same time, the Secretariat, in its encounter with various LGUs and their office personnel, was accorded the rare chance to immerse itself, although briefly, into the actual day-to-day operations of the LGUs, thereby acquiring a panoramic view of local governance, their commonalities and peculiarities per region, and eventually across regions.

For its maiden roll out, the team went on its first leg in the new Negros Island Region (NIR) in the Visayas, considering that it is being proposed under the ConCom draft Bayanihan Constitution as separate federal state and ULAP has yet to conduct any activities or engagements in the said area since institutional inception. ULAP Secretariat visited six (6) LGUs in the said Region over the period from April 30, 2019 to May 06, 2019.

A round-table discussion was conducted in each of the LGUs, who responded to ULAP’s invitation, dealing on select issues or programs for focused discussion among targeted local government officials and action persons with the end view of finding appropriate solutions or forging unified stand relative thereto, e.g., Solid Waste Management which is a nagging problem that requires urgent response.

LEARNINGS AND TAKE AWAYS FROM THE ROADSHOWS With many stumbling blocks strewn in the local government’s path, one can easily be discouraged from making a push for any policy and program development reform agenda. In this roadshow, the team gleaned from the wide-ranging local contexts multi-dimensional, multifaceted realities, to wit: 1. VALENCIA, NEGROS ORIENTAL1 Valencia is a first-class municipality, with a population of 34,852 (2015 1

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https://dumaguete.com/valencia-negros-oriental/

ULAP Accomplishment Report 2016 - 2019

census). The municipality occupies a land area of 14,749 hectares, 65% mountainous with elevations averaging from 200 to 500 meters above sea level, and 35% of the surface area classified as plains. Due to its higher elevation, Valencia has a cooler climate than most other municipalities. Its vicinity is also the most important watershed area of Negros Oriental, providing abundant drinking water not only to Valencia but also its neighboring municipalities.

During the meeting, Mayor Edgar Teves of Municipality of Valencia informed the team that the residents enjoy free 4.9 cubic meter of water per month. Beyond that, they will have to pay the excess water usage but only for a minimal fee.

Additionally, the good Mayor proudly pointed out that aside from the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), Valencia receives revenue from the development and utilization of its natural geothermal power. He explained that Valencia, particularly Barangay Puhagan, hosts the geothermal power station operated by the Energy Development Corporation. This geothermal plant produces electricity supply not only for Valencia and its neighboring areas, but even across to the Provinces of Panay and Cebu. Although the municipality has incurred higher revenue from these sources, the local government of Valencia bemoans the geothermal power generator (EDC) and its electricity distributor (GRINCOR) for not remitting the full amount of its share in the proceeds of the geothermal operations and commercial use.

The Mayor claimed that collectible amount represents the amount of unpaid business taxes of both companies. Mayor Teves then requested ULAP to assist the LGU to seek clarification or to have an avenue for a dialogue with appropriate NGA/s to solve this nagging issue.

Aside from the concerns about human resource development and public cemetery management, Valencia aches to operate its own sanitary landfill in anticipation of growing waste disposal problem visà-vis public opposition to the whole idea of local landfill. However, it hoped that the constituents will support the proposition once blueprints of the plan are made available and properly disseminated, patterned after the Canadian model of solid waste management.

Mayor Teves also recommended policy reforms on situs of taxation and Federalism for consideration of the ULAP National Executive Board (NEB).

2. DUMAGUETE CITY, NEGROS ORIENTAL2 Dumaguete, dubbed as the “City of Gentle People”, is a 3rd class city in Negros Oriental. Based on the 2015 census, the population headcount was placed at 131,377. It is a popular tourist destination and was recently labeled as the best retirement place in the Philippines. The economy of the City relies on the following: tourism, the academe, the retail industries, BPO and technology-related activities. In an interview with us, Dumaguete Mayor Felipe Antonio B. Remollo envisioned the City becoming to be the sports capital of Negros. Accordingly, he has started to prepare for the scheduled hosting of a major international sports competition in the city. He expressed concern over the inexplicable absence of local government provisions from the current draft Bayanihan Constitution. He averred that the LGUs play a key role in steering socioeconomic activities and development agenda pursuit in the region – important components of decentralization.

3. SAN CARLOS CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL San Carlos, a second-class City in the Province of Negros Occidental, has a population of 132,536 (NSA 2015) and a total land area of 451.50 square kilometers. It consists mainly of sloping to rolling terrain comprising about 18.77 percent of the total land area. The city has an estimated coastline stretch of about 21 kilometers starting from Talave coastline of Brgy. Punao and ending in Brgy. Buluangan coastline bordering the Province of Negros Occidental from the Oriental side of Negros3. Agricultural products being produced are mainly sugarcane 2 3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumaguete http://www.sancarloscity.gov.ph/

and other vegetables.

Although the City is IRA dependent (based on their 2019 annual budget), the increase of local revenue will be inevitable since the location of the City makes it a strategic business hub and an ideal investment destination owing to its agriculture lands and commercial real estate. The local government supports all business ventures by giving attractive fiscal incentives such as seven (7) years income tax holiday and exemption from payment of other fees and five (5) years exemption from real estate taxes for new business ventures4.

The City hosts the largest operational solar plant in the Philippines, called the San Carlos Solar Energy, Inc. (SaCaSol) I, which is a 45-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic power plant.

San Carlos City is consistently a hall of famer, as it is recognized, both by the national and international award-giving bodies for their exemplary performance under the Environment Protection and Solid Waste Management category. It has a well-planned solid waste management program, including the City’s Sanitary Landfill which is one of its kind and first in Region VI. A Memorandum of Agreement was forged with neighboring cities and municipalities for shared utilization of the facility.

In response to the President Duterte’s emphasis on the need to maintain cleanliness in tourist destinations, the City is in partnership with other stakeholders for the construction of Waste-Water Treatment Facility in the Island of Sipaway. Through extensive information dissemination, coupled with multi-stakeholder engagement in the community, the City Council ordinance to regulate plastic usage has gained popular support. Interestingly, as a way of encouraging citizen participation to promote environment protection, the City Council incentivized ecofriendly schools and barangays. At the dialogue with ULAP, the City officialdom expressed difficulty working and coordinating with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). According to them, DENR lacks the resources to implement its mandates. Thus, the City decided on a policy and program initiative to find appropriate solution to its environmental challenges. Initially, the City allocated a budget from its General Fund (GF) to employ a total of sixty (60) personnel to constitute the Kanlaon Green Brigade, Bantay Dagat and other groups with primary tasks of protecting and monitoring the forest of Mt. Kanlaon, water shed areas and the surrounding sea. One very novel idea was an alternate financing scheme for the sustainability of the projects; that for every cubic meter of clean water usage, one (1) peso goes to the Watershed Protection Fund.

San Carlos City also has other programs/projects, such as in-city housing for informal settlers and for the City Government employees.

Aside from the Environmental awards, the City has been recognized in South Korea as one of the “Most Liveable Model Cities”.

As a matter of great importance, the Municipality has prioritized farm-tomarket road infrastructure, installation of water and electricity in 6,000 households within the area as well as construction of day-care centers in its 7 barangays. According to him, there are 42 existing day-care centers throughout the municipality because of need to address the high incidence of child malnutrition and the existence of insurgency – the day-care centers being visible presence of the government in remote areas. There are also proposals to organize a farmer’s group as a possible intervention to address insurgency issues. However, the municipality is still banking on the promises made back in 2013 by Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process which have remained unfulfilled to-date. He sought the assistance of ULAP to forward the letter to the Office of the President to prioritize DSB in local peace talks and fulfill the pledges made by the previous administration.

For a small town, tax collection from real property remains a challenge owing to the fact that more than 60% of the municipal land area belongs to the national parks or protected areas.

5. BAGO CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL Bago City is a second-class city in Negros Occidental, with a total land area of 38,941 hectares, 3,651 ha. of which belongs to Mt. Kanla-on Natural Park. It is composed of 24 barangays, 16 of which are rural and 8 are urban. The City adopts a liberalized, and business-and-investorfriendly environment, ready to accommodate manufacturing, ecotourism, property development, and power generation projects. With a population of 170,981 (2015), land topography, resources and political stability, Bago City exerts conscious efforts toward ensuring optimum benefits and welfare for its constituents – an objective shared among its officials, bureaucracy and constituency, constantly striving towards excellence in local governance.

The main source of livelihood of the people in this area are fishing and farming. In this light, the local government pursues the establishment of programs for the farmers and fisherfolks. There is a 2-pronged program currently in place which aims to provide livelihood, and at the same, to preserve the forest; it supports the growing of the kakawate trees along the fringes of the forest park for purposes of charcoal-making with assured market among Chicken Inasal barbeque establishments that abound in the area.

Environmental protection program and solid waste segregation are highlights in the accomplishment of the City, attributable to intensified information campaign on solid waste management program and provision of incentives to schools and barangays which have shown exemplary performance.

4. DON SALVADOR BENEDICTO, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 6. SAGAY CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL Known as the “Summer Capital of Negros Occidental”, with the population of merely 25,662 (PSA 2015), Don Salvador Benedicto (DSB) is a dream destination to foreign and local tourists alike. The weather is a little colder than Tagaytay City in Cavite. Surrounded by Baguio-like pine trees, luscious flowering plants and amazing view, this place is indeed, an escape destination from the hustling and bustling city life.

Behind this scenic environment, DSB is an IRA-dependent 4th class municipality, geographically-isolated-and-disadvantaged-area (GIDA), with high malnutrition data (the highest in the region) and subsisting insurgency presence. Given its limited socioeconomic resource, Mayor Laurence Marxlen Dela Cruz is on the constant look out for alternative ways to meet the challenges.

To improve health indicators, the Mayor collaborated with the Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF) for a much-needed enlistment under a flagship initiative called the “Municipal Leadership and Governance Program” (MLGP), a capacity-building program for municipal mayors and municipal health officers to help enhance health-related service delivery. On top of that, the municipality sought partnerships and grants to advance their health programs. Further, the Mayor vent his frustrations over the stringent DOH accreditation process and requirements to secure license to operate of the municipality’s health facilities. Hence, ULAP referred this matter to DOH for its appropriate action. The municipality has tapped ULAP to assist in formulating its health programs based on the needs of the community given its context.

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https://philippinescities.com/san-carlos-city-negros-occidental/

The City of Sagay, is a 2nd class city in the province of Negros Occidental with a population of 146,264 (2015). Sagay is readily identifiable from the map of Negros Occidental because of its “ice-cream cone” shape off the northern tip of the province. It is bounded in the north by Asuncion Pass and the Visayan Sea; the City of Talisay and Municipality of Calatrava in the south; cities of Cadiz and Silay in the west and the City of Escalante and Municipality of Toboso in the east. The name of the city comes from the semi-spherical shell called “sigay”, which can be found in abundance in the area. Aside from its magnificent views and picturesque tourist spots, the ecotourism projects of the City stand out. The Suyac Island Mangrove Eco-Park is the first community-based, community-managed Ecotourism Project in line with the thrust of the city on sustainable tourism development. Here, the people of Suyac have been given training on food handling services, tourism management and other needed skills. The multi-stakeholder approach was deemed effective in making sure that the Eco Park is sustained.

With the newly created Philippine Economic Zone in the City, the primary challenge that besets its incumbent Mayor Thirdy Maranon is marketing that will attract potential investors. ULAP’s intervention paved the way to link the City to Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to guide the LGUs and be informed of the requisites and support for PEZA-accredited zones.

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Official membership of ulap in national policy-making bodies, engagements with development partners and participation in international fora ULAP also serves as the bridge that connects the LGUs with concerned agencies of national government and the link that articulates its interests, issues and concerns. In line with this, ULAP sits as a member of different national and international level strategic policymaking and coordinating bodies and instrumentalities and is being consulted, tapped and/or requested to assist in the formulation and implementation of plans, programs, projects and activities.

ULAP’S MEMBERSHIP IN NATIONAL POLICY-MAKING BODIES National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Formerly called the National Disaster Coordinating Council, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) is a working group of various government agencies and offices, with the participation of non-government, civil sector and private sector organizations, tasked to perform policy-making, coordination, integration, supervision, monitoring and evaluation functions in relation to reducing and managing risks brought about by disasters. Republic Act 10121, or the “Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010”, created the NDRRMC, to which the National President of ULAP is a regular member of the governing board and technical working groups.

Coordinating Committee on Decentralization (CCD) The Coordinating Committee on Decentralization (CCD) is a body instituted as the secretariat of the Oversight Committee on Devolution.

With membership consisting of all relevant government agencies and the leagues of local governments, the CCD evaluates policy reform priorities and assesses the status of evaluation of major initiatives.

Toward this end, it conducts regular meetings to strengthen partnerships among partner agencies and stakeholders, harmonizes initiatives, and resolves problems and issues in the implementation of programs, projects, and policies in sustaining and improving the implementation of the national government undertakings relating to decentralization and the LGUs. ULAP sits as one of the members of the committee, alongside with the ULAP member leagues of local government units.

Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Board The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) is a body created pursuant to Republic Act No. 9996 or the “Mindanao Development Authority Act” to promote, coordinate and facilitate the active and extensive participation of all sectors to effect socioeconomic development of Mindanao. This includes formulation of an integrated development framework for Mindanao consistent with the peace and development initiatives of the national government. Representing the local government units is the President of ULAP.

Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) Emergency 911 Commission Created pursuant to Executive Order No. 79, s. 2012, the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) is an interagency body tasked to ensure the institutionalization and implementation of the reforms in the Philippine mining sector. This includes the functions to assess and review mining-related laws and policies, and to provide rules and guidelines to guarantee environmental protection and responsible mining in the utilization of mineral resources. It is also a platform for continuing dialogue and coordination among all stakeholders in the industry. ULAP is a member of the Coordinating Council.

Early Childhood Care and Development Council (ECCD) Council The Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council is a national government body responsible for establishing national standards, developing policies and programs, ensuring compliance thereof, and providing technical assistance and support to the ECCD service providers. It was organized through Republic Act No. 10410 or the “Early Years Act (EYA) of 2013”. Also, it is was strengthened to ensure the State’s focus on building a strong foundation for the development and learning of children during the early years from age zero (0) to four (4) years, to support the full range of health, nutrition, early education and social development programs for the child’s holistic development and ensure sustained interagency and multisectoral collaboration.

ULAP sits as member of the governing board.

Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Board Constituted by virtue of “Philippine Statistical Act of 2013” (Republic Act No. 10625), the Philippine Statistics Authority Board is the highest policy-making body on statistical matters in the country. Among its major powers and functions are to establish appropriate mechanisms for an efficient and effective statistical system in the government, to formulate policies on all matters relating to government statistical operations, standards and classifications, to provide technical assistance and exercise supervision on government statistical activities and to approve the Philippine Statistical Development Program (PSDP).

The local government is represented in the governing board by the ULAP President.

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The Emergency 911 Commission was created through Executive Order No. 56, series of 2018, of the Office of the President to serve as the policy-making body and overseer of the Emergency 911 National Program. EO 56 establishes the Emergency 911 National Program and institutionalizes the nationwide Emergency 911 Hotline Number. This is in response to the need to improve existing peace and order and public safety mechanisms by providing a clear command structure for responsibility and by facilitating the prompt deployment of a seamless nationwide communication infrastructure for emergency services.

The ULAP President sits as a member of the Commission. The local government sector is being represented by the Executive Director of ULAP as the alternate representative. Likewise, the Executive Director of ULAP is appointed as Chairman of Finance and Administration Committee.

Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) Steering Committee ULAP is one of the members of the National Steering Committee of the Philippine-Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP). OGP is an international initiative that provides platform for government reformers and civil society leaders to create action plans that make governments more inclusive, responsive and accountable. ULAP assists in the localization of the initiatives of the OGP in partnership with government and development partners Philippine Committee Against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Philippine Committee Against Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing was created by virtue of the Office of the President’s Executive Order No. 154, series of 2013, to ensure the implementation of the National Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing (NPOA-IUU), to provide policy guidance and to develop capacity-building programs. It is also required to submit an annual report to the President on the implementation of the Executive Order and of the NPOA-IUU. ULAP is a regular member of the Committee.

Philippine Extractive Industry Transparency Stakeholder Group (PH-EITI MSG)

Initiative

Multi-

Created pursuant to Executive Order No. 147, series of 2013, the Philippine Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative Multi-Stakeholder Group (PH-EITI MSG) is group tasked to implement and operationalize the Philippine Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (PH-EITI) in accordance with the EITI International Guidelines. The EITI serves as a platform for dialogue between stakeholders, and as a source of credible information to have to informed and sound policies on the fiscal regime for mining. With EITI, the government implements reforms in the sector of mining, which include audit of mining companies’ compliance with socio-environmental regulations. ULAP is one of the members of the PH-EITI MSG representing the local government sector.

National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) The National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) is body established to act as the central policy and coordinating mechanism for the execution of the inter-agency agreement to strategically scaleup the implementation of the Philippine Program Against Child Labor (PPACL). PPACL is a network of mutually establishing partners working towards the prevention and progressive elimination of child labor through protection, withdrawal, healing and reintegration of child workers into a caring society, in line with Republic Act No. 7610 as amended by Republic Act No. 9231. ULAP is a regular member of the Committee.

which is mandated to recommend policies to the PNHRS Governing Council and to perform oversight function on the implementation and harmonization of the PNHRS activities and the allocation of the PNHRS fund. ULAP is an active partner of the agency.

RPRH Law National Implementation Team (NIT) In compliance with the Republic Act No. 10354 or the “Reproductive Health Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act” (RPRH Law) and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), the DOH issued Administrative Order (AO) No. 2015-0002 creating the RPRH Law National Implementation Team (NIT), which is composed of government and private sector stakeholders, to manage the implementation of the law. Among others, the NIT is tasked to coordinate the actions of the agencies implementing the law and its IRR in the areas of policy development, capacity-building, advocacy, education, information, health service delivery, field operations and monitoring and evaluation and to set up a system to monitor the implementation and impact of the law. ULAP sits as member of the NIT. The RPRH Law guarantees and enables measures for the sexual and reproductive rights of women, men, young people and families through comprehensive and accessible reproductive health care services, including family planning.

ULAP’S COLLABORATION WITH DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS The Asia Foundation (TAF)

NEDA-SDC Sub-Committee Development

on

International

Migration

and

The Sub-Committee on International Migration and Development (SCIMD) of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Social Development Committee (SDC), where ULAP is a member, is the central development planning and coordinating body on migration and development of the government. Its creation is in response to the lack of a regular platform for policy discussions on matters affecting Filipinos overseas.

Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) National Steering Committee The Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) National Steering Committee is a group of experts and advocates from the national government agencies, leagues, academe and civil society organizations being convened to review and recommend the final set of criteria for the annual SGLG implementation. The SGLG is an award, honor and recognition-based program for all LGUs and is a continuing commitment for them to continually progress and improve performance based on the set criteria. LGUs who are conferred with the SGLG will be given incentives. ULAP is a member of the Steering Committee.

TAF with AustralianAID (AusAID) ULAP entered into a grant-based engagement with the AusAID and The Asia Foundation (TAF) that focused on reform in local education governance (Project Implementation period: March 2013 to May 2014.

ULAP also had another project with AusAID entitled, “Assessing and Identifying Reform Areas on Senior High School Voucher System (formerly Exploring Direct Downloads of National Education Funds to Local Governments)”, aims to look for possible funding sources from the national budget (most likely DepEd) that can be directly downloaded to the LGUs to hasten K-12 preparations. (Project Implementation period: March 2016 – August 2016) ULAP was tapped by the AustralianAid- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, The Asia Foundation, and Foundation for Economic Freedom as an advocacy partner to assist in facilitating the partnership between Residential Free Patent Act campaign initiative and the local governments and achieve the outcomes towards effective land governance.

TAF with Australian Embassy under the Coalitions for Change Program

DOH Multi-Sector Governance Council (MSGC) The Multi-Sector Governance Council (MSGC) of the Department of Health (DOH) is being formed to formalize the participation of external stakeholders to ensure the sustainability of the Performance Governance System (PGS). PGS is a key management system for monitoring performance accountability in the health sector. It was institutionalized by DOH in support to its FOURmula One Plus for Health medium-term strategic policy to attain Universal Health Care (UHC). Pursuant to DOH Department Personnel Order (DPO) No. 20191436, ULAP, through its Executive Director, shall represent the local governance sector. Additionally, ULAP shall initiate engagement of the Association of Municipal Health Officers of the Philippines (AMHOP) and the Provincial Health Officers Association of the Philippines (PHOAP) to provide inputs to the Council.

Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS) Steering Committee Republic Act No. 10532 institutionalizes the Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS) with the aim to improve the health status, productivity and the quality of life of the Filipinos by ensuring linkage between health research and health system needs through sound investments, good governance, and partnerships and networks. Among those composing the PNHRS is the PNHRS Steering Committee,

Embarking on the approved revised guidelines of the National DRRM Fund, ULAP, in partnership with The Asia Foundation supported by the Australian Embassy under the Coalitions for Change (CfC) program, spearheaded three (3) forum on the newly revised guidelines. These fora aimed to facilitate information dissemination and discussion on the revised guidelines among local stakeholders, including the LGUs and Regional DRRM Councils. The activities took place in Albay, Iloilo and Isabela. (Project Implementation period: June 2017 to July 2017) TAF with other organizations In partnership with The Asia Foundation and all member leagues, ULAP has conducted a series of policy dialogues and discussions to firm up the local government agenda for reform in DRRM, particularly on its various financing mechanisms, the local fiscal and capacity support environment for DRRM, the access of LGUs to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF) as the main fund source of DRRM programs in the country. This fund, although serves as a substantial financing opportunity, is not being fully maximized by local stakeholders. As a response to this call, the NDRRM Council revised the Fund’s guidelines through Memorandum No. 81, which will streamline the process and enhance national-local DRRM cooperation. This effort is seen to be an opportunity to aid our local governments in improving

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local DRRM services subsequently making them disaster resilient and prepared LGUs. Subsequently, the result of the above initiative became a key to revise the guidelines of the National DRRM Fund, as approved by the National DRRM Council on March 14, 2017. This is seen as an opportunity to increase access of LGUs, currently at 2%, to this national-level funding source to improve local DRRM services. (Project Implementation period: March 2017). ULAP engaged the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) – Local Government Academy (LGA) to develop several modules for the Newly-Elected Officials (NEO) capacity-building program. ULAP tapped its networks for the modules – namely, Zuellig Family Foundation (ZFF) and the 162 to 52 Health Coalition for the “Bridging Leadership” and “Health Governance” modules, and TAF with the Coalitions for Change group for the “Education Governance” module. The NEO program seeks to enable the newly elected officials in the local executive levels through web-based and peer learning platforms. The program is regularly run by the LGA with the local government leagues. On May 28, 2014, ULAP received citation and appreciation for its significant contribution to the NEO program.

Making All Voices Count – Hivos International (MAVC-HIVOS) With the support of MAVC-Hivos International, ULAP implemented the project, entitled, “Increasing Transparency in Extractive Industries in the Sub-national Level through the Use of Context Specific Technologybased Platforms by Multi-Stakeholder Group”. The project is an innovative approach in the conduct of extractive industry transparency initiatives (EITI) at the local level which also provides an avenue for localization of the decision-making and agenda-setting in the project sites consisting of the Provinces of Palawan, Agusan del Sur and Benguet. The Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative, which is one of the Philippine commitments to the Open Government Partnership (OGP), is a platform to systematically report on, review, and assess what is being paid by companies and received by governments through a system of bilateral disclosures. It is a multi-stakeholder initiative by the government, industry, and civil society representatives.

ULAP is the representative of the local governments in the Philippine Multi-Stakeholder Group. ULAP received this grant from MAVC when it won Gold during the Global Innovation Competition at Ghana, Africa in 2016. (Project Implementation period: June 2016 to July 2017). As part of its unrelenting commitment as a member of the Phl-OGP SteerCom, ULAP, in partnership with Making All Voices Count (MAVC) and Hivos International, has undertaken the project entitled, “Developing technology-based innovation platforms at provincial level: Supporting Bottom Up Budgeting (BuB)” projects in 2015 to identify context specific tech-based innovations to support with making the BuB reporting and monitoring more feasible and information accessible to civil society organizations, provincial government and communities at large.

Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore (LKYSPPNUS) ULAP has worked with LKYSPPNUP and other concerned partners/ stakeholders, in conducting the Innovative Solutions to Open Government Partnerships (ISOGP) event in February 2015, as follow through event to the Good Governance Dialogues (GGD) Regional Fora purposely to localize and mainstream the country’s commitments to OGP, and the creation of the Innovative Technology Coalition for OGP (ITOGP). The said coalition, which consists of concerned NGAs, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and private sectors, was formed to assist not only the local government units but also the concerned agencies to mitigate the issues and concerns raised during the GGD Fora. It was identified that one of the gaps in achieving the LGU’s role in mainstreaming the reforms is the lack of innovation and technologybased solutions, specifically capacity and resource on the ground, which will be institutionalized. Likewise, this is envisioned to be a coalition of multi-sector representatives that will supply technologybased innovative solutions to the LGUs, and implement continuous outreach and networking campaigns, to help meet OGP commitments and enhance LGU delivery of basic social services and governance.

(Project Implementation period: February 2015-February 2016)

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United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) In line with the Local Government Code 25th Anniversary Celebration in 2016, the DILG-UN Republiko -ULAP collaboration was forged with the aimed of contributing to the policy and public discourse about decentralization and development empowering local government actors. Aside from the conduct of five (5) round table discussions, ULAP also produced a 3D Policy Advocacy Campaign on Decentralization and Democracy for Development which was subsequently uploaded in its social media sites.

Microsoft Philippines, Inc. Since the conduct of ISOGP event in 2015, Microsoft Philippines, has been one of the key partners of ULAP to ensure that the reforms on technology will be mainstreamed in the local government units and address the gaps identified during the series of dialogues with the stakeholders and local actors. On top of these, Microsoft has been in support of ULAP policy and program initiatives and advocacies, such as the ULAP #ParaSaBayan (PSB) Advocacy and localization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in the pursuit of strengthening the capability and capacity of the local chief executives to enhance the delivery of basic services on the ground and subsequently, meet the SDGs. Presently, the partnership is extending to the promotion and policy support work for the ULAP Parasabayan (PSB) Website. Likewise, ULAP had a project with Microsoft, entitled “Developing Proofs of Concept: ICTs in Local Governance”, which was piloted in the Cities of Iloilo and Batangas. This project aims to document the impact and effectiveness of an innovative solution, create an ICT roadmap for LGUs and develop a policy paper outlining the LGU ICT agenda. (Project Implementation period: June 2016 to June 2017) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) ULAP as the project partner of Atikha, Inc. for the implementation of the project, “Scaling up Initiatives in Mobilizing Migrant Resources towards Agriculture Development in the Philippines”, with a support grant from IFAD. The program provides financial education to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families on both sides the migration corridor, and links financial education to concrete savings and investment programs of selected cooperatives, microfinance institutions, social enterprises, etc. (Project Implementation Period: January 2015 until December 2016).

United States Agency for International Development-Facilitating Public Investment (USAID-FPI) Adopting the OGP platform, the Office of the President, DBM, Phl-OGP Steering Committee, ULAP, USAID-FPI and INCITEGov conducted a series of regional fora called the Good Governance Dialogues. It is a two-day forum, conducted in five regional gatherings, which served as a venue for LGUs and local CSOs to be oriented with priority programs and initiatives that will help realize OGP commitments and Good Governance Cluster Reforms Initiatives primarily on budget reforms and fiscal transparency.

INTERNATIONAL MEMBERSHIP ULAP has been invited to be a member of a regional knowledge and peer learning network working on decentralisation and local governance reform in Asia, called Local Governance Initiative and Network (LOGIN).

LOGIN has been a regional programme of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in its initial phases, connecting variously positioned and mandated (institutional) stakeholders working on local governance issues across 12 countries of South and East Asia.

As of February 2019, the network has transitioned into an independent Swiss Association that will continue (with the support of SDC) to serve the region with a view to capacitating relevant actors and influencing the policy environment through knowledge and expertise provisioning; curated and customised learning engagements; evidence building and analysis; and other activities for improved public sector management and delivery at the local level.

The proposed membership, which is still subject for approval, of ULAP in the said organization will be discussed on the upcoming 92nd National Executive Board meeting.

ULAP SECRETARIAT

BERNARDINO E. SAYO Executive Director

MIRIAM J. PADUA External Partnerships Manager

ARNULFO S. AMOROSO Collections Officer

MARICOR ANNE DG. CAUTON Director, Finance and Administration

MERRY ANN L. SANCHEZ Administrative Manager

RUDY S. BORBON JR. Finance and Accounting Manager

LEONARDO V. ALCANTARA, JR. Policy Manager

JARRED MARTIN G. CLARIANES Project Dev’t Manager

JEFFREY F. PRESTADO Information and Communications Technology Officer

JOSHUA F. GONZALES Bookkeeper

LUZVERFEDA PASCUAL Consultant, Government Affairs

ATTY. RODEL V. ABECHUELA Consultant, Legal Affairs

We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude and best wishes to the following former colleagues in their new engagements:

ERWIN M. PADUA Company Driver

►► Marcia Czarina Corazon dM. Medina-Guce

►► Christine P. Valenzuela

►► Sandra T. Paredes

►► Irish O. Generoso

►► Crystal Eunice T. Dela Cruz

►► Geriel C. dela Cruz

►► Dan Drebb H. Eusalan

►► Jeselle M. Mananghaya

►► Genixon C. David

►► Lyka Ranelle dela Cruz

►► Ana Martha F. Galindes

►► Carla de la Cruz

►► Annieza P. Abubakar

►► Mariel Anne O. Pascual

►► Marie Jay Kamille S. Dayhon

►► ULAP Interns

►► Rachel Kay A. Perez