By Alliah Shean Consulta, Danica Daluz, Andrea Lois De Guzman, and Allen Jeruzz Gallos

The Task Force for Participatory Governance (TFPLG) members –  Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO), La Salle Institute of Governance (LSIG), KAISAHAN Tungo sa Kaunlaran ng Kanayunan at Repormang Pansakahan, and Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (PhilDHRRA) organized an event entitled “#CSOTalk: Strengthening Governance through People’s Councils”, on July 18, 2021 via Zoom. The event aimed to share the salient features of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memorandum Circular 2021-54, which mandates local government units (LGUs) to create a Civil Society Organization (CSO) Desk and to institutionalize a People’s Council in their locality. Well-experienced CSO leaders shared their perspectives and insights regarding how citizens can participate and what genuine participation in local governance is about.

Ms. Milet Agatha Aquino from the Bureau of Local Government Service of the DILG highlighted the purpose of the DILG MC, i.e. to encourage citizens’ participation in local governance through the two structures. She also talked about the MC’s functions and the requirements for establishing the People’s Council, as follows:

CSO leaders of various sectoral groups across the country who sit in the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), represented by the Vice-Chairperson for the Basic Sectors Ruperto “Ka Uper” Aleroza in this event, acknowledged that the DILG had carefully examined the comments and opinions of the basic sectors against the DILG MC 2021-12, which the current MC then superseded.  The NAPC, a government agency, is mandated to “strengthen and invigorate partnerships between the national government and the basic [marginalized] sectors” for poverty reduction programs by national and local governments. Ka Uper said the NAPC recognizes the efforts of basic sectors on social development, as well as continues its commitment to accountability and transparency in government since its inception more than two decades ago.

Citizens’ participation in local governance is not something new though. The 1991 Local Government Code (LGC) of the Philippines had long advocated for it and underscored that the contribution of every Filipino citizen in governance is as important as every civil servant in the government bureaucracy. To further strengthen themselves, many CSOs organize into CSO networks as a way to build up their participation. The People’s Council can be viewed as one CSO network model.  

What are the requisites to form and maintain CSO networks? Dr. Divina Luz Lopez, Associate Professorial Lecturer at the De La Salle University, shared seven core patterns (see infographics below) from PhilDHRRA’s case study, “Forming Networks for People’s Participation in Local Governance” in 1999. This study documents the initiatives of CSOs in local governance in 1996 when they engaged local government processes as an option because it is voluntary and as an opportunity to maximize the LGC-mandated local government structures for CSOs. 

Meanwhile, other CSOs have already formed People’s Councils in their provinces.  The chairperson of Dumaguete People’s Development Council (DPDC), Ms. Nancy Estolloso, shared how they established their Council and what their participatory local governance experiences were. The City Ordinance No. 84 was passed in 2012 through the pivotal work of Mr. Albert Aquino (former Chairperson of CODE-NGO), and City Ordinance No. 62 in 2016. She highlighted some of their AHA! moments in the Council. “We are now able to bring sectoral issues to the committee level, and as a result, two ordinances were passed, the TODA Ordinance for pedicab drivers and the Dual Franchise Ordinance. Right now, we are cooking something at the Committee Level on the Freedom of Information (FOI) as promoted by the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO)  and PHILDHRRA. I think this is going to be a milestone in the engagement of the Dumaguete People’s Development Council with the local legislative body of Dumaguete City”. Although she sees some challenges in the implementation of DILG MC 2021-54, she certainly affirmed that joining the DPDC has contributed worthily to the unity and development of her own organization and other CSOs.  

The online session is just the beginning of extensive discussions about the MC and its provisions. The practice of good governance addresses people’s needs and harnesses all the possible resources that a community or society possesses. Thus, the cooperation between people and government can happen through the CSO Desks and People’s Councils, among other structures. We will continue to engage at the national and local levels to ensure genuine citizen participation in development. 

Related Resources: “Seven Lessons on Scaling Up to Networks”

Full Webinar on #CSOTalk: Strengthening Governance through People’s Councils here.