The People’s Council of Naujan and Calapan City proves that being organized within the local government unit has its advantages. Rosana Cabral, President of the People’s Council of Naujan, and the President of the Malayang Kababaihan Kumakalaban sa Kahirapan (M3Ks), a people’s organization in Naujan, shared their experience on how their group responded to the oil spill that occurred on February 28, 2023. Osang, as she is called, highlighted the significance and effectiveness of multi-stakeholder collaboration in disaster response. The oil spill cost the livelihood of their community as they were fishers and were not allowed to fish at that time. Being part of the People’s Council of Naujan that is linked to the local government and the different groups in the municipality helped raise resources to overcome the lack of income that the fisherfolk experienced. The People’s Council was also able to mobilize distribution of clean water in a couple of their barangays. This was presented during the Social Development Week of CODE-NGO in an online learning session on October 17 in the afternoon.

The organization of Osang is one of the beneficiaries of CODE-NGO’s project on Citizen Monitoring of LGU Performance Promoting Accountability and Governance in Health and Social Protection. Doris Melgar, Executive Director of the Kaunsayan Foundation for Community Development (KAFCODE) and the President of the People’s Council of Calapan City, the capital of Oriental Mindoro, relayed how the EU-supported project facilitated the relationship of the civil society organizations (CSOs) with the local government units. The intervention helped in the accreditation of local CSOs, alignment of local government programs with the agenda of the city’s CSOs, and institutionalization of the city’s People’s Councils not only in Calapan City but also in Naujan and Baco. Through the People’s Council in Calapan, PhP 114,000 was raised to help the affected families.

During the learning session Omar Mangona, Project Manager of the EU Project and Sandino Soliman, Executive Director of CODE-NGO, also shared the project overview and the importance of local governance. Civil society organizations need to be proactive in asserting its place in local governance, given the many platforms for participation available at the national and local level. Especially because people’s participation in governance is crucial in aligning the national and local programs to the actual needs of our communities. The people know the issues and concerns that need to be addressed, including the damage done during disasters and the risks of climate change to their communities.