30/10/2026
𝐃𝐈𝐋𝐆 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐨 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥
𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘰 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘺.
𝐃𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐎 𝐂𝐈𝐓𝐘 | 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟔–𝟐𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 — Good governance becomes stronger when people are not merely recipients of public services, but active contributors to the decisions that shape their communities.
Anchored on this principle, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Davao City Operations Office conducted the 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥 (𝐋𝐏𝐂) at The Apo View Hotel, Davao City. The two-day activity brought together representatives from the local government, accredited civil society organizations (CSOs), people’s organizations (POs), sectoral groups, the academe, and other stakeholders to explore a more organized and meaningful approach to people’s participation in local governance.
In her opening message, 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐚-𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐒. 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐭𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐬, 𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐎 𝐕, City Director, DILG Davao City emphasized that an institutionalized LPC can be a valuable partner in local governance. She underscored that constructive participation is not a hindrance to governance; rather, it can make governance more informed, trusted, and effective.
“𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.”
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Through sessions on the legal and policy framework of the LPC, its institutionalization, and the principles of inclusive and meaningful participation under the Open Government Partnership (OGP), participants explored the role of CSOs in local governance and the readiness needed to participate effectively.
Workshops encouraged organizations to examine their strengths, identify areas for improvement, and reflect on a crucial question: 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲?
The participating accredited CSOs represented diverse communities and sectors, including fisherfolk, farmers, persons with disabilities (PWDs), environmental advocates, social protection groups, and economic sector organizations, among others, underscoring the importance of giving different sectors an opportunity to be heard.
𝐀 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠
A highlight of the activity was the 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 – 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥, representatives from DILG Davao City and the City Government engaged CSOs in an open exchange of perspectives and recommendations. 𝐇𝐨𝐧. 𝐀𝐥 𝐑𝐲𝐚𝐧 𝐒. 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐞, City Councilor and Chairperson of the Committee on Cooperative Development and People’s Participation, expressed his full support for the initiative and commitment to pursuing the LPC’s institutionalization in the city. 𝐌𝐫. 𝐉𝐨𝐛𝐞 𝐂. 𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐨𝐧, 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐊𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐤 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, also shared their organization's experiences as an active CSO partner in local governance, offering valuable insights from the civil society perspective.
𝐋𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐏𝐂 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤
The discussions generated initial inputs toward developing a 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐏𝐂 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, covering the proposed Council’s composition, sectoral representation, membership safeguards, core functions, and operating arrangements. Through sector-based action planning, participants also identified practical steps, responsible organizations, timelines, and support needed to move the initiative forward. The activity culminated in the signing of the 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐨 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲, affirming the stakeholders’ shared commitment to the initiative.
𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭
More than establishing another structure for compliance, the LPC envisions a continuing avenue where communities can raise concerns, offer recommendations, and help shape local development. The challenge now is to turn the ideas and commitments generated into concrete steps toward its formal establishment.
𝐏𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐚 𝐬𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐮𝐬𝐚 𝐮𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐲, 𝐩𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐤𝐚𝐛-𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐚 𝐤𝐚𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐠 𝐤𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐠 𝐃𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐨.
Because a stronger city is built not only by a government that serves, but by a community empowered to participate and help shape its future.
