DILG to local officials: Attend orientation course or face sanctions

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Friday warned that newly elected local officials who will not attend an orientation course on good governance this July may face administrative sanctions if they fail to explain their absence.

“We can file admin case against them. Pero syempre magso-show-cause[-order] muna kami, kase baka may sakit kaya hindi nakapunta (but of course we will conduct a show-cause-order because maybe they are sick that’s why they can’t go),” DILG Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said in a chance interview.

A total of 1,715 local officials are set to attend the 2019 Newly Elected Officials (NEO) program organized by the DILG to enhance their competencies “in carrying out their new tasks as leaders…while promoting peace and resilience towards community development.”

After the orientation course, local officials are expected to craft their plans for their first 100 days in office and executive agenda.

“Much is expected from the incoming set of local officials especially at this time when local government units (LGUs) are counted upon to sustain and build upon the gains of President Rodrigo Duterte’s reform agenda now that he is midway into his term,” Malaya said.

He said the training will “ensure that they (local officials) are ready and equipped to hurdle the demands and challenges of local governance.”

Among the topics to be discussed include duties, responsibilities and accountabilities of elected officials; disaster preparedness protocols for LGUs; the role of leaders in building peaceful, secure and developed communities, and in advancing the anti-illegal drugs strategy; retooled community support program; using technology for the enhancement of local governance; and strategic management.

According to Malaya, among the resource speakers in the training are Bohol 1st District Rep. Edgar Chatto, a three-term governor of the province, and Basilan Gov. Hadjiman Hataman-Salliman, “who made a major breakthrough” when Basilan and 22 other local government units (LGUs) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) bagged the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) in 2018.

“They have a wealth of experiences that they can share to the first-timers and re-electionists for them to emulate and apply to their respective areas of jurisdiction,” the DILG official said.

Malaya said other resource persons include National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Dangerous Drugs Board Chairperson Catalino Cuy, Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad of the Office of Civil Defense, Assistant Secretary Romell Antonio Cuenca of the Climate Change Commission, and former DILG Undersecretary Austere Panadero.

The schedule of the orientation course is as follows: July 8 to 10 for all provincial governors in Metro Manila; July 10 to 12 for all city mayors in Metro Manila; July 16 to 18 for Luzon municipal mayors of Regions I, III, and IV-A in Metro Manila; July 17 to 19 for municipal mayors in Regions II, CAR, MIMAROPA, and V in Metro Manila; July 24 to 26 for Mindanao municipal mayors in Davao City; and July 29 to 31 for Visayas municipal mayors in Cebu City.

“If a local chief executive wants to receive the DILG SGLG for his LGU, the best way to start is to actively participate in the 2019 NEO Program,” Malaya said. (Editor: Eden Estopace)