Davide urges LGUs to level up

CEBU, Philippines - Governor Hilario Davide III has challenged Cebu’s 51 towns and cities to level up governance and public service at par with national and global standards as Metro Cebu was recently recognized by the United Nations as one of the seven model cities for metropolitan governance.

By this distinction, Metro Cebu joins the ranks of Seoul in South Korea, Tokyo in Japan, Paris in France and New York in the United States.

“That’s good news. Lipay ta ana… That is also a challenge for all local government units to really improve our services, our capability. Mao na’y tumong,” Davide said.

Metro Cebu is composed of 13 local government units (LGUs) starting from the southern city of Carcar up to Danao City in northern Cebu.

Metro Cebu and Iloilo City were two metropolitan areas in the Philippines chosen together with Colombo in Sri Lanka, Phnom Penh in Cambodia, among others.

Of the 196 countries all over the globe, including the Philippines, seven countries from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America were selected by the United Nations.

To level up, Capitol officials said LGUs should have a system for regular evaluation to ensure continuous improvement, using indicators developed to measure success. 

The municipality’s purok (sub-villages) system, for instance, has been important in mobilizing and empowering communities by connecting them to a wider model of participatory governance.

The delivery of public services to the purok is supervised by committees that are responsible for specific programs, like health and nutrition, agriculture and livelihood, education and solid waste management, peace and order, environmental protection, tourism, women and children, infrastructure, youth and sports and finance budget and appropriations.

Metropolitan governance as defined by World Bank in 2011, as a political influence and leadership within institutions, recognition of regional geographical scope of metropolitan areas, and concerted efforts to encourage cooperation through established and recognized authorities. (FREEMAN)