I. BACKGROUND

The Local Government Code of 1991 actualized the Filipino peoples commitment to democratic governance and sustainable development. The landmark legislation opened great opportunities for local development initiatives and for greater community participation in governance. Now after ten years since the Code's implementation, communities and their local governments have responded with enthusiasm and creativeness, resulting remarkable gains.

The localization of the Code is seen as an arena for the civil society organizations to engage with the government and the private sector to show that decentralization and devolution of power works effectively. Other resource agencies saw this as an opportunity for forging trisectoral partnerships. Hence, the Participatory Local Governance (PLG) program was born in 1997.

The program is a collaborative partnership between Iloilo CODE NGOs and DIAKONIA-Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). It is designed to demonstrate, concretely and forcefully, that through a decentralized system of governance, local communities can accelerate the development process and improve government performance in the delivery of services. Consistent with the tenets of local autonomy, PLG hopes to achieve this through a strategy of assisted self-reliance and provision of capability building support.

II. GOAL and PURPOSE

The goal of PLG is to bring about more responsive democratic institutions with greater peoples' participation for local governance and development.

The purpose is to achieve effective local governance with maximized popular participation in selected local government units and establish a functioning management system in all aspects of development from planning, decision-making, project implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

III. STRATEGY

The project was initiated in 1997 in the Municipality of Batad as pilot LGU and several of its barangays as pilot barangays. This was replicated in New Lucena (2000) and Bingawan (2001). It would be expanded to other strategic and viable local government units to establish a wider impact areas in the near future.

The PLG strategy is to support selected local communities through the Core Development Principles and Values:

• Sustainable Integrated Area Development and Management
• Transparency and Accountability in Governance
• Development of Democratic Structures in the Community
• Gender Equity
• Peace based on Social Justice
• Sound Technology and Innovations
• Developing Competencies

IV. CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF STRATEGIC MUNICIPALITIES FOR PROJECT REPLICATION

1. Basically 4th and 5th Class Municipality in terms of income in each Congressional Districts in Iloilo
2. Openness and willingness of the Local Chief Executive and the local officials to the principles of participatory local governance and creative democratic practices
3. Manageable number of barangays and presence of sound social structures and potential of local leaders in the community
4. Accessibility to transportation
5. No presence of duplicating intervention from other agencies in the area
6. Willingness of the LGU to share and sustain the burden in assisted self-reliance