> A proud
city
DURING the local election in 1988, a young Jesse was among the
mayoral candidates in a forum organized by the NGOs and the city’s
civic organizations. With the fervor and spirit of the EDSA
Revolution still fresh in their hearts, the people demanded that
sincere and committed leaders should earn their vote.
At the forum, Robredo listened and responded positively. He signed
a covenant that if elected, he would attend to the plight of the
increasing number of squatters which was among the top issues of
the time. True to his word, newly-elected Robredo immediately
called upon the city’s stakeholders to come up with a tripartite
partnership of the local government, the urban poor and private
landowners designed to empower the urban poor and respond to two
immediate problems confronting the landless dwellers: the absence
of land tenure and the lack of basic infrastructure and
facilities.
Still, Naga moved on to blaze new trails. Putting flesh to the
intents of the Local Government Code, Naga soon became famous
nationwide for instituting people’s participation in local
governance. The first in the country, it adopted the Naga City
People Empowerment Ordinance, created a corresponding structure
and institution (Naga City People’s Council) and continues to find
better ways to enhance its relevance and effectiveness, including
its “sunshine policy” that provides for transparent transactions
(its i-Governance program, for instance, not only recognizes the
citizen’s right to know but also encourages them to engage their
government by freely providing them with information on what their
elected leaders are accountable for).
Throughout his administration, Mayor Robredo consistently invests
on his people by making them both beneficiaries and key players in
bringing about real reforms in governance. The higher goal was to
make a difference in their lives even if brick by brick he has to
remold the once dispirited provincial city into what is now a
dynamic and business-friendly urban center.
With over 140 international, national and regional awards tucked
under its belt (the UN Public Service Award, among them), Naga has
become a laboratory for good governance. Various government
officials, international funding institutions and the academe look
upon Naga City for their research and studies with recommendations
that the city’s precedent-setting initiatives be replicated by
other local government units. Prestigious national and
international organizations have in fact singled out Naga as:
- a Pilot City for Local Development Performance Project of the
Philippine-Australian Governance Facility;
- a Model for Procurement by the World Bank;
- a Model City for Bicol for DILG’s Anti-Red Tape campaign;
- a Model City of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP)
and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for good urban
governance;
- a Pilot Area for Solid Waste Management by the Japan Bank for
International Cooperation;
- a Model for Benchmarking and Cities Data Book Projects of the
Asian Development Bank;
- one of the five Pilot Cities in the Philippines for the Climate
Change Protection Campaign, a project of the International Council
for Local Environment Initiatives (ICLEI)
- a Founding Partner of the Philippines Integrated Water Resource
Alliance (IWRA), in collaboration with the USAID, the League of
Cities, Iloilo City and PADCO, a US-based technical assistance
group.
As model LGU, countries in Southeast Asia and the Asia Pacific, as
well as from other cities in the Philippines have sent and
continue to send representatives and scholars to study and take a
closer look at Naga’s award-winning programs for possible
replication.
Examining Naga City’s experience in local governance, the Ateneo
(de Manila) Center for Social Policy and Public Affairs wrote in
its book, Propelling Growth, Managing Costs: A Challenge to Local
Governments, that Naga City is in fact reinventing local
governance through its award-winning programs.
An English tourist who is in town to propose a homestay program
with local residents has told this columnist that one of the
city’s best attractions is its people whose warmth and sense of
pride speak of their trust in their local leadership. A Peace
Corps volunteer said he is inviting his peers posted in other
places of the country to hold a training seminar-meeting here
because of its fresh air and peace-loving people.
