Citizens play a crucial part in local governance, stressed League of Cities of the Philippines national president Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia during the People’s Council for Change (PCC) and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Bantay Korapsyon (BK) Program Assembly at the Silay City gym Saturday [March 13].
“It is very, very important to have people’s participation in local governance. Ever since, I’ve always been an advocate of participative governance,” said Leonardia in his inspirational speech.
With the theme of “advancing public interest and participatory governance,” the assembly was organized by PCC, an aggrupation of sectoral and territorial civil society organizations (CSOs) and a pioneer CSO network partner of DILG’s BK Program.
DILG Undersecretary for Operations Epimaco Densing III was the event’s keynote speaker as well as the chief presenter of the Bantay Korapsyon Program and Good Governance.
President Rodrigo Duterte has created a Participatory Governance Cluster in his Cabinet to engage citizens to join the pursuit of good governance and improved public service delivery, Densing said.
Densing said the active participation of the people in development and government planning is vital to the country’s fast progress.
In a previous statement, DILG Secretary Eduardo Año had said that through participatory governance, public service delivery becomes more transparent, efficient, and people-centric.
Silay City Mayor Mark Anthony Golez welcomed the participants and the delegates.
The assembly included a basic orientation on PCC and presentation of PCC and ARTA thrusts and programs in line with local participative governance.
The event also marked the launching of PCC Negros Occidental, the mass oath-taking of its officers and members, and the stakeholders’ signing of the “Social Agreement to the PCC Platform and DILG BK Program.”
The assembly was coordinated by DILG BK Program Officer and PCC national president Justine Mapile Jr.
Also present during the assembly were Himamaylan City Mayor Raymund Tongson, Executive Assistant George Zulueta, Civil Service Commission Region 6 director Nelson Sarmiento, DILG Region 6 director Jovian Ingeniero, Prof. Edwin Karl Ombion, national secretary general of PCC and consultant of DILG SLGP, and PCC Negros chairman Engr. Michael Jegira.*
