The election of President Benigno “Noynoy” S. Aquino, who ran on a people’s campaign that was fueled by the spirit of volunteerism, has created expectations that the new administration will be more transparent and more willing to engage citizens in governance.  However, while the national government may be expected to be more transparent, the same cannot be automatically expected from local government units (LGUs) – provinces, cities and municipalities and barangays. The new configurations of civil society organizations (CSOs) and citizen volunteers who participated actively in the May 2010 elections should continue to engage in the governance of the country, and not disengage from politics and governance as many of them did after the 1986 People Power revolution.

Former Governor of Zamboanga del Norte Atty. Isagani Amatong briefs the audience on the socio-economic situation of the province.			Workshop participants from the Province of Leyte.				DILG-ARMM Local Government Operations Officer Fausiah Romancap-Abdullah explains about the participatory governance mechanisms provided under current laws.

It is in this context that the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO), in partnership with CSO networks working with and within target provinces, and with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) started a project focusing on strengthening local CSO networks through advocacy and participatory governance.  Entitled “Advancing a Democratic Reform Agenda,” the project involves 6 provinces, namely: Laguna, Leyte, Zamboanga del Norte, Maguindanao, Davao del Norte, and Davao Oriental. Provincial training workshops in each province commenced in early February, with the aim of clarifying a localized Development and Reform Agenda (DRA) that seeks to address the pressing issues and concerns in the province.  The workshops also build up the knowledge and capacity of the participants, who are key leaders of CSOs and representatives of different sectors in the province, to advocate for their provincial agenda particularly through participatory governance mechanisms, social accountability tools, and a review of various policy advocacy strategies, including network building. Similar workshops, which will be conducted by the partner CSO networks, will also be held in at least 3 target municipalities within each of the provinces.  The process of forming a DRA will also go down to the village level when the barangay forums will be conducted later on within the municipalities.  These activities aim to strengthen civil society’s engagement in local governance and its efforts to advance transparent, participatory and accountable governance at the local level, and strengthen and expand local reform constituencies that are dedicated to good governance, poverty reduction, peace, and sustainable economic development  

CODE-NGO continues to work on this project with the Open Heart Foundation Worldwide in Laguna, Eastern Visayas Network of NGOs and POs (EVNET) in Leyte, Center for Social Concerns and Development (CESCOD) in Zamboanga del Norte, Community Organizers Multiversity (CO Multiversity) in Maguindanao, Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas – Mindanao (PHILDHRRA – Mindanao) in Davao del Norte, and the Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka – Mindanao (PAKISAMA – Mindanao) in Davao Oriental.  — By Sandino Soliman, Project Assistant for Advocacy.