‘Nene’ not idle, puts up local governance center

Former Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Q. Pimentel Jr. has not been idle at all since his term in the Senate was up last year.

On June 1, Pimentel led in the inauguration of the Center for Local Governance which he heads. The center conducts seminars and teaching modules for officials from the barangay, municipal, city and provincial levels in order to upgrade their governance skills.

“Good governance means not only knowing and implementing what manmade laws —mainly the Constitution and the Local Government Code—mandate but also the spiritual or moral values that underline the whys and wherefores of public service,” Pimentel said in remarks at the opening.

Author of the Local Government Code of 1991, Pimentel said the center would also seek to “strengthen the moral fiber of our local officialdom to resist corruption in all manner or form and set the stage for the transformation of the nation.”

Recounting how the center came about, Pimentel said people had urged him to come out of retirement from public office and found an institute through which he could share with local officials and others the insights he had acquired on local governance over the years.

Since its founding seven months ago, the center has conducted a number of seminars on good governance for barangay officials and NGOs, POs and concerned citizens. It has also presented specific modules for higher local government officials.

Pimentel acknowledged the support of Vice President Jejomar Binay and the University of Makati headed by its president, professor Tom Lopez. The center is located on the UM campus.

The seminars were held at UM and various parts of the country, such as Ilagan, Subic, Cabanatuan City, Lucena City, Legaspi City, Palawan, Cebu and Davao.

“Unless we embark on the mission of national transformation now, no matter what the odds might be, there will be no second time for us in this lifetime,” Pimentel said.

He pointed out that with 42,020 barangays, 1,511 municipalities, 122 cities and 80 provinces throughout the country, local officials could immensely help a program for national transformation.

“Happily we realize that we are not actually starting from scratch. Many well-meaning citizens, churches and evangelical groups have done their bit to advance the cause of national transformation earlier than us,” Pimentel said.