For Tuwid na daan to prosper, CSO participation is needed – says DILG

ANTIPAS , North Cotabato (Oct 8) – For a Tuwid na daan (righteous path) to prosper in a local government unit (LGU), it needs the participation of the civil society organizations (CSOs) in all aspects, said a local government operations (LGO) officer in North Cotabato. The Tuwid na Daan is President Aquino’s battlecry since he assumed post in 2010.It means getting rid of graft and corruption in the government through transparency and good governance. Arsad Hadji Hassan Tekoken of DILG-Cotabato, during the 2ndCSO Day here, has encouraged peoples’ organizations to become active partners of LGUs in the pursuits of local autonomy, delivery of basic social services, and poverty reduction in order to achieve sustainable development or growth. Tekoken cited certain provisions of the Local Government Code of 1991 and several DILG memorandum circulars as basis for CSO participation. The involvement of CSOs in decision making and in identifying projects useful for the grassroots could result to what he termed as, participatory governance” in an LGU. CSO participation is highly needed, especially during monitoring of how projects are implemented in the barangays,” he said. This is manifested through the Bottom-Up Budgeting (BUB) approach, he explained. BUB, as an enabling strategy of the PNoy administration, is the opposite of the top-to-bottom planning and budgeting. In North Cotabato, the DILG has partnered with two non-government organizations (NGOs) – the ACF International and Mindanao Land Foundation, Inc., in implementing, Empowered Participatory Governance towards Progress,”a program funded by the European Union. The project, which started in 2013, is carried out in five poorest towns in North Cotabato, which included Antipas, Arakan, President Roxas, Matalam, and Magpet. The project aims to help reduce rural poverty, promote effective and responsive governance, and strong participation of the communities by strengthening the capacities of LGUs and CSOs where they could collaborate in planning, project implementation, and policy making.