SDRC Staff Attend Local Governance Policy Forum

Members of the SDRC Core Staff represented the Center at the Local Governance Policy Forum convened by the Department of the Interior and Local Government on October 18, 2010 at the Heritage Hotel in Pasay City.

Coordinator for Research Dissemination and Publication Connie Maraan and SDRC Secretary Lolita Rosell attended sessions on “Improving Local Fiscal Capacities,” which aimed to provide a venue for discussing and addressing issues and concerns on Local Fiscal Resource Mobilization to further enhance local autonomy; “Addressing the Plight of the Informal Settlers,” which sought to gather policy-makers in urban/local development and informal settlers to discuss and chart ways and means of addressing the plight of the latter; and “Strengthening Collaboration to Address Human Trafficking,” which involved addressing human trafficking with the end in view of thoroughly understanding the problem and resolving it comprehensively.

The policy forum was conducted as part of the year-long celebration of the 20th anniversary of local autonomy in the Philippines. Dubbed as “Biyaheng Pinoy: Tapat na Palakad, Bayang Maunlad,” the 20th anniversary program involves a series of activities at the local and national level. These activities aim to contribute to the broader valuation of local autonomy towards national development, and to increase awareness of the general public on local governance issues by conducting different activities with the participation of various stakeholders.

The forum concluded with an inter-active plenary session that included a presentation of the proposed Local Governance Code Amendments from the perspective of LGUs; a response and legislative agenda of Congress; and the reaction from a multi-sectoral panel. The proposed legislative agenda, dubbed as “10-10-10” and to be handed over to President Benigno Aquino III, is composed of 10 Gains for LGUs; 10 Lessons after a Decade of the Passage of the LG Code; and the proposed 10 Amendments.