good local governance

In1991, the Local Government Code was passed decentralizing the functions of delivering basic services from the central government to the provinces, the cities, municipalities and barangays. Three years later, in 1994, Galing Pook started recognizing best practices in local governance by local government units based on impact, citizen participation, innovation, replicability and sustainability. During that year, Naga City, under the leadership of Jesse Robredo, garnered its fi rst Galing Pook awards for outstanding local governance program. To date, Naga City has received a total of 14 Galing Pook awards (7 outstanding, 3 trailblazing and 4 special citations). It is now the most awarded LGU in the country from the Galing Pook Foundation. Taken all together, these awards give us ten lessons and guideposts, according to Jesse Robredo and Naga City, in practicing good local governance.
1. Improve Productivity. Naga City embarked on a program that
aimed to bring out the full potential of various departments and
offi ces of the entire city government. It had four main thrusts of (a)
providing suffi cient services to meet the requirements of the population;
(b) getting optimum outputs with minimum expenditures; (c)
producing quality results as desired and planned; and (d) making
services accessible and acceptable on the principle of “the greatest
good for the greatest number.”

2. Computerize. The city created an effective and effi cient management
system that streamlined business transaction processes,
provided a dependable database for more effective decision-making,
and made the city administration more responsive to its citizen’s
needs. The program components – management information system,
geographic information system and minimum basic needs database
– enabled the city government to establish a local database of
household population for every barangay. Support functions were
ensured in all line departments integrating revenue generation and
social development to deliver excellent services to the constituents.

3. Empower the People. The city government laid down a clear and
comprehensive framework that allows its constituents to take active
part in governance. Nagueños are able to voice their concerns
and suggestions to the City Hall and act on various issues – from
procurement to budgeting, to scuttling an initial plan of the local
government to allow a golf course. The program facilitated the engagement
of 193 non-government and people’s organizations with
the local government. It led to the institutionalization of the Naga
City People’s Council which counts NGOs, POs, cooperatives, barangays,
and everyone whose voices need to be heard, as members.

4. i-Govern. The city operationalized the “power of information”
and its value as a truly empowering tool when made accessible
for the people. Nagueños need only go online for their business
license, birth certifi cate, or even when they want to bid for government
procurements. People get what they need faster and more ef-
fi ciently, practically free from red tape and grease money. Through
i-Governance, Naga City also promotes good governance by
providing the people with information on city government policies,
programs, and operations.

5. Reinvent Institutions. In the reinvented school board of Naga
City, the structure ensures transparency, accountability, participation,
and predictability. The membership has been expanded
to include representatives from the academe, business, religious,
alumni associations, and non-government organizations. The NCSB
prepares the local education plan and budget with strong citizen
participation. It also made education offi cials accountable to the
public and identifi ed alternative ways of developing and fi nancing
the local education plan by mobilizing internal and external
resources.

6. Train the Youth. The City Youth Month Program of Naga engaged
the city’s top youth leaders to compete for the chance
to land in one of the 45 slots that would put them at the executive
and legislative positions, as well as in the non-government sector
as Naga City People’s Youth Council representatives that embody
Naga’s unique participatory governance model. While there are
limits to the authority extended to the City Youth Offi cials during
their term, they are given a wide leeway in running the affairs of
the city government. The project enhanced the involvement of the
youth in government affairs.

7. Be Prepared Always. Started in May 1991, Emergency Rescue
Naga addresses the urgent need for fast and reliable service in
times of emergency. ERN provides 24-hour quick response medical
and protective services to all Naga City residents in crisis situations.
The program mobilizes the combined resources of the city government
such as the police and fi re departments, the local association
of barangay councils, government-owned and private hospitals
and schools, radio stations, local amateur radio groups and private
medical volunteers.

8. Prioritize the Marginalized. The city launched the Kaantabay sa
Kauswagan or Partners in Development Program in 1989 to
address issues in a way that is fair for both the informal settlers and
landowners and that will discourage informal settling for good. The
program is guided by two key principles. First, the government will
not help the urban poor unless they actively participate in solving
their own problems. Informal settlers have to organize, settle their
own boundary disputes, negotiate with landowners, and make down
payments for their home lots with substantial support from the city
government together with its three partner NGOs. Second, is the
tripartite effort among the urban poor organizations, national and
local government agencies, and landowners in which the interests
and abilities of each party are taken into account.

9. Invest in Children. Evolving from the traditional day care services
of the DSWD and complemented by the Montessori system in
pre-school education, the comprehensive and innovative program
addresses the need for improved access and equity in quality education
for the young city residents. It was conceptualized by the city
government, in cooperation with the parents association, barangay
councils and NGOs. Since its inception in 1992, the NEED program
has successfully revolutionized the concept of the day care service
in Naga City forging a high level of synergy between program
managers and participants.

10. Together, We Can Do Better. The Metro Naga Development
Council, a partnership among the LGUs, pools together the
efforts and resources of 13 local government units, the private sector
and the national government agencies in Camarines Sur focusing
on projects and activities which address the immediate needs of the
community and lay the groundwork for the long-term growth in the
area. MNDC, with specifi c task forces, focuses on the maximization
of resources to reach more constituents widening the target coverage
with practically the same logistical capacity.