Tagbilaran team to share practices in San Fernando

By Fiel Angeli E. Araoarao - Gabin

TAGBILARAN City is sending a three-man team to San Fernando La Union to provide its mentoring activities to the city this November 6 to 8, 2006. City Planning and Development Coordinator Eduardo C. Macalandag, City Gov't Assistant Dept. Head, HRMO and Systems Administrator Mario Lloyd I. Gutierrez and Lawrence L. Medilo, Assistant Systems Administrator will share on the city's existing information systems to La Union officials to replicate the success story here.

The visit forms part of the mentoring component of a joint project called Enhancing Fiscal Sustainability of Selected Local Government Units in the Philippines. Recently, City Mayor Dan Lim signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to formalize the sharing with City Mayor Mary Jane Ortega of San Fernando City in La Union last August 10, 2006 in Manila. In a letter to Mayor Lim, Dr. Alex B. Brillantes, Jr., dean and project manager informed the mayor that the Sangguniang Panlungsod of San Fernando has passed a resolution approving the participation of the said local government unit in the mentoring program.

Dr. Brillantes also asked Tagbilaran City 's resource persons who shall discuss on real property tax, business permits and licenses and poverty monitoring systems. The resource persons would also help the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG) in their design of a detailed mentoring program. Furthermore, the three Tagbilaran city resource persons are to give technical lectures and discussion of experiences and lessons learned in systems design and implementation and to demonstrate the systems for better appreciation of the trainees.

Enhancing Fiscal Sustainability of Selected Local Government Units is a one-year project that collectively aims to improve the capacity of LGUs to increase their revenue levels and service delivery in a package of services. This allows selected LGUs to strengthen their fiscal management systems through training and development of computer-assisted information systems. This too involves a mentoring arrangement between LGUs with a relatively advanced know-how in the use of information technology (IT) for fiscal administration to be replicated by other LGUs.

It may be recalled that the 2004-2007 Executive-Legislative Agenda of City Mayor Dan Lim and Vice-Mayor Nuevas Montes on development administration includes maintenance of a pro-active, service-oriented and efficient governance adhering to Sustainable Development. The LGU hopes to do this through an effective partnership of a transparent and accountable local government, a participative civil society, and a socially responsible private sector.” The city uses new perspectives introduced by the Philippine Regional Municipal Development Program (PRMDP) covering the land-related information systems, engineering and solid waste management, planning and development and resource development components which started in October 1997. I has also looked for ways to realize certain goals and objectives for an effective local governance.

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