TACLOBAN CITY- Newly-elected mayors will undergo an orientation course on good local governance where they are expected to craft their first 100 days plan and executive agenda, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) regional office here said.
The three-day comprehensive training slated on the last week of July aims to enhance the competencies of the newly-elected officials “in carrying out their new tasks as leaders in community development while promoting peace and resilience towards community development.”
DILG Eastern Visayas Regional Director Artemio Caneja said the orientation will prioritize newly-elected city and municipal mayors. Another orientation is set for re-elected and returning local chief executives in the region.
Caneja said there are separate orientations for provincial governors and mayors of highly urbanized cities to be handled by the DILG’s Local Government Academy.
“The orientation course is part of the Jumpstarting Local Governance component of the program for newly-elected officials, a continuing intervention of the DILG in its commitment to provide a harmonized and holistic capacity development delivery mechanism for local governments,” Caneja said.
Among the topics to be discussed are 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; wielding technology for the enhancement of local governance; and strategic management.
The orientation is centered on the rundown of critical steps of the first 100 days in office of a local chief executive.
After their first 100 days in office, the DILG regional chief said their performance is subject to evaluation and they will undergo training. The topic will depend on the areas where local officials need improvement.
“We call it Sharpening the Saw, a market-driven program where local governments match their requirements with the existing capacity development services and training packages of DILG,” Caneja added.
The orientation program is a pioneering initiative of the DILG, which aims to prepare the newly-elected local officials for their duties and responsibilities as leaders and make them development-oriented local officials who can promote local economic development.
(SARWELL Q. MENIANO/PNA)
