Organisasyong Agimat

2 governors, mayor share best practices in governance

By TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Posted date: June 16, 2008

MANILA, Philippines—And then there were three—all leading lights in
local politics who have joined hands to preach good governance in the
hope this would be replicated elsewhere.

In their first much-awaited meeting, Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo,
Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca and Pampanga Gov. Eddie "Among Ed" Panlilio
plotted on Tuesday night their future, and the country's.

Over dinner of sinampalukang manok, pancit molo and bistek Tagalog at
Club Filipino in San Juan City, the three officials agreed to tackle
together problems, and more importantly, share their "best practices"
in governance with other local chief executives.

"We are a fragmented nation and what we want is to group together,
make a commitment and advocate the same advocacy," Panlilio said in an
interview. "The country deserves better governance."

One quick way to reach out is through cyberspace. The three officials
are planning to set up a "group blog," where they can write down their
thoughts, in the hope of luring others to their cause, according to
Robredo, who keeps a blog like Panlilio.

There have been calls for the three officials to get together and talk
about what's good for the country, but it was only last week that they
got around to doing it. After all, they are the new breed of
reform-driven public servants.

Harvey Keh, director for Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship
of Ateneo de Manila University School of Government, arranged and
joined the meeting of the three, whom he calls the "hope of the country."

"If bad people in our government can join forces to wreak havoc in our
country, then why can't the good people join forces as well and
promote good governance in our country?" he said.

In their two-hour meeting, the two governors and the mayor made an
amusing, but otherwise not surprising discovery about themselves:
They're advocating the same reforms.

Greater transparency

These are ensuring greater transparency and accountability in
government dealings, curbing the pervasive illegal numbers game
"jueteng" and illegal logging, and fighting for more local autonomy in
the maintenance of law and order.

And with less than two years to go before the 2010 national elections,
the three officials are now pushing for computerized elections and
voters' education.

After the dinner, Padaca, 44, went home feeling a certain "lightness
of heart."

"I thought to myself. `I'm not alone anymore,'" she said by phone on
her way to a remote village on a mountainside in San Agustin town in
Isabela province for a regular dialogue with her constituents on
Friday morning.

Robredo, 50, winner of the 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government
Service and one of Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World for
efficient, good governance, said the main consensus was cooperation.

"Since we're not getting any help from the national government, we
agreed to cooperate in solving our common problems," he said by phone
from a domestic airport in Naga. For one, they could share strategies,
he added.

Choice of police chiefs

One of their more pressing concerns now, especially in Panlilio's
case, is getting regional police officials to respect their choice of
police chiefs, which is crucial in the campaign against jueteng.

The mayor was happy to note that Panlilio employed the same tack he
took when faced with the same problem in the past: Call the senators'
attention.

If a solution entails getting a law amended, the three officials said
they would write lawmakers to file a bill to this effect.

But over and above their local concerns, the three agreed to share
"best practices" on how transparency and accountability work in their
respective turf with other like-minded officials.

"Good governance starts with simple lifestyle, low-cost expenses in
the capitol, transparency and accountability, efficient delivery of
services," Panlilio, 54, said in a phone interview before giving a
talk on good governance at Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City on
Friday morning.

The priest shot to national prominence following his crushing victory
over the popular Gov. Mark Lapid and moneyed Lilia Pineda in last
year's gubernatorial elections in Pampanga province.

Best practices

Among the best practices that can be replicated elsewhere are Naga's
practice of allowing NGOs to sit at deliberations of special bodies
and the city council, and in effect, help run the city, and posting
the disposition of its funds and results of its bidding processes on
its website; Pampanga's efficient collection of quarry taxes; and
Isabela's efforts at food sufficiency.

The three plan to meet again, hoping to see other "like-minded"
officials next time around.

"We're very sure there are a lot of others out there who have their
own success stories, but have yet to be discovered," said Padaca, who
thrashed the heirs of the Dy family in the 2004 and 2007 gubernatorial
elections in Isabela.

Panlilio agreed: "If we put more emphasis on those who really work for
good governance to change the political system, and we work together,
it will have a big impact on our country."

The idea of bringing the three officials together was to create a
"coalition" of local government officials who are committed "to
promoting good governance, transparency and accountability," Ateneo's
Keh, 29, said.

"I want to make the organization grow, to include other local
government leaders who want to see genuine change in our country," he
said.

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