Parables and paradox in devolution

THEY MAY not seem to have anything in common, but there is something that the first-class province of Negros Oriental, the second-class city of Surigao in Surigao del Norte, and the fifth-class municipality of Sabangan in Mt. Province share: all three are held up as exemplars of excellence in local governance, thanks to the stewardship of their respective local chief executives.

For 2006, the Local Government Leadership Awards (LGLA) has named George Arnaiz, three-term governor of Negros Oriental; Alfonso Casurra, two-term Surigao City mayor; and Jupiter Dominguez, two-term mayor of Sabangan as most outstanding governor, city mayor, and municipal mayor, respectively. The three lead 12 other governors, city and municipal mayors who have been cited for their achievements as local chief executives the past year.

Indeed, for all the bad news one hears most of the time about local politicos, Governor Arnaiz and Mayors Casurra and Dominguez are only recent additions to the growing number of local leaders bred in the decentralized era ushered by the enactment of the Local Government Code. Today no longer is excellent local leadership wanting in paragons, unlike in the past, when one was sure not to run out of fingers counting the likes of a Jesse Robredo, who transformed backward Naga City into one of the most vibrant and dynamic cities in the country today. Or a Bayani Fernando, whose strong, if not authoritarian, leadership style made Marikina a symbol of cutting-edge local governance and entrepreneurial dynamism.

Hence the LGLA, the brainchild of Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., principal author of the Local Government Code of 1991 and the acknowledged “Father of Philippine Local Autonomy.” The awards have been given since 2002 in recognition of the important role of local chief executives in accomplishing the goals of good local governance as put forth in the Code. In 2003, the LGLA became an official initiative of the Senate, with partners from academic institutions in the forefront of local governance — the University of the Philippines’s National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG), La Salle Institute of Governance, Local Government Academy, and Development Academy of the Philippines — tapped to assist in the rigorous annual selection process.

Continue here:
Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism