1. Participation
Mainstreaming meaningful
stakeholdership in governance
JESSE M ROBREDO
Mayor, Naga City

2. Limitations and Challenges
■ DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT
■ Not centrally located
■ 377 kms south of Manila
(national capital), 380 kms
north of Cebu (2nd biggest
urban center)
■ The core of Metro Naga
■ A fast-growing area comprised
of 14 municipalities and Naga
City belonging to Metro Naga
Development Council (MNDC)
■ A medium-sized city
■ 137,000 population (2000
census)
■ Daytime population of around
250,000

3. PARTICIPATIVE VISIONING
Evolution of City Vision
 Built around the concept of creating a
niche for Naga
 Rallying people on need to restore
local pride
 Institutionalized participative
visioning process facilitates
community ownership
“A City for the People” “Uswag Naga 1998” “An Maogmang Lugar”
(1988-95) (1995-98) (1998 onwards)
Confidence building Emphasis on economic Redefinition of shared
phase which laid down growth; period of rapid vision towards becoming
groundwork for reforms economic expansion an inclusive city and
within City Hall and in the model of participative
community urban governance

4. “SELLING THE VISION”
Communication Strategy
 Various approaches
utilized by leadership in “Kauswagan kan
presenting the corporate Naga—Kun Bako
mission/vision to its
constituency Ngonian, Nuarin
 Goal is securing their Pa?”
support so that the
corporate vision becomes
a shared community
vision
 Includes the use of logos
and sloganeering

5. THE NAGA GOVERNANCE MODEL
A guiding framework
Guided by our own experience, we
have evolved our own governance
model
 Progressive development
perspective. Seeks prosperity-
building tempered by an enlightened
perception of the poor
 Functional partnerships.
Vehicles that enable the city to tap
community resources for priority
undertakings
 Participation. Mechanisms that
ensure long-term sustainability of
local undertakings
The Naga Governance Model

6. THE IMPERATIVES FOR
People Participation
 At the operational and practical level,
partnerships work best among organized
groups and institutions
 Can exclude community at large (particularly
marginalized sectors) reducing them to mere
spectators
 Partnerships must be complemented by
mechanisms that mainstream the marginalized,
and actively engaged them in governance

7. SHAPING, INSTITUTIONALIZING FUNCTIONAL
Participatory Mechanisms
 Continuing NGO accreditation
 After the Code was passed, Naga was among the
first to implement the provision mandating NGO
accreditation.
 During its first run in 1993, more than 40 applied
with the city council and were duly accredited.
 Multi-level consultation mechanisms
 Under Naga SPEED component, multiple
consultation channels were set up
 Specific sectors, groups, or the entire constituency
can participate in identifying and affirming
developmental priorities

8. SHAPING, INSTITUTIONALIZING FUNCTIONAL
Participatory Mechanisms
 Referendum on development issues
 On August 6, 1993, Naga pioneered the conduct of a citywide
referendum when three development issues were submitted to
Nagueños for decision
 In the process, the city government demonstrated that
participation even at this scale works
 The Empowerment Ordinance and the Naga
City People’s Council
 Through a landmark legislation, the local government initiated a
system of partnership wherein it encouraged the federation of
NGOs and POs into the Naga City People’s Council (NCPC)
 Institutionalized a system of self-regulation among the rank and
file of NGOs and POs in the city

9. FUNCTIONS OF THE
Naga City People’s Council
The council
 appoints NGO representatives to local special bodies
of the City Government
 observes, votes and participates in the deliberation,
conceptualization, implementation and evaluation of
projects, programs and activities of the City
Government
 proposes legislation, participates and votes at the
committee level of the Sanggunian, and
 acts as the people's representatives in the exercise of
their constitutional rights to information

10. 2ND LEVEL OF PARTICIPATION: ENGAGING WITH INDIVIDUALS
The i-Governance Program
 A program that identifies and uses various
tools to:
 encourage participation in government decision-
making, especially by individual citizens and
households
 concretize the governance principles of transparency
and accountability
 Allows the local government to meet the
challenge of sustaining innovative approaches
by:
 Doing more with less
 Improving and ensuring equitable service delivery

11. PROGRAM COMPONENTS
Delivery mechanisms
1. Analog or paper- 3. Mobile Governance.
based tools. Addresses Uses cellphones which have
higher penetration rate than dial-
need of around 67% of population
up internet. Around 67% of
without ICT access
households own a mobile phone.
 Performance Pledges
 TxtServe Naga
 Citizens Board
 Naga City Citizens Charter 4. Network access
2. Digital or ICT media improvement. Addresses
digital divide through strategic IT
(eGovernance) investments
 naga.gov initiative, through  Cyberschools (Click
the city’s website Project)
www.naga.gov.ph  Cyberbarangays

12. The Naga City Citizens Charter
■ GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY IN SERVICE DELIVERY
■ A guidebook on 130 key services
being delivered by the City
Government to its customers
■ Procedure
■ Response time
■ Personnel responsible for each service
■ Requirements checklist to facilitate service
delivery
■ Schedule of fees (if applicable)
■ Location maps sketching office/s handling
the service
■ A “contract” that can be enforced
through feedback
■ Provides for customer feedback form
■ Directory of city hall agencies

13. City Website
■ A DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT AND EMPOWERMENT TOOL
 Maximizes web technology
 Within reach of local resources
and capability in a developing
country
 Offers access to information on
Naga, including city government
financial reports
• proposed and approved annual
operating budget
• quarterly financial statement of
operation
• bid tenders, and
• outcomes of every bidding
process completed
 Platform for communicating
requests and complaints in cost-
effective and efficient manner
 Contains a digital version of the
Charter (called NetServe) and the
Citizens Board

14. TxtServe Naga
■ A MOBILE GOVERNANCE ENGAGEMENT TOOL
 Allows citizens to send
complaints, other
concerns to City Hall
through SMS or text
messaging
 In partnership with Smart
Telecommunications, a leading
Philippine telco
 Other SMS applications WHY IS D YOUTH CNTER'S
currently being POOL W/C S SUPPOSD 2 B
PUBLC POOL BEING CLOSED
developed COZ PRIVATE SKOLS' P.E.
 Owned by city government, instead STUDENTS R USING D WHOLE
of being Smart network dependent POOL EXCLUSIVELY? why?

15. Outcomes
 Information openness engenders …by putting up
critical engagement with citizens the numbers for
everyone to
 Widespread availability of information see, the city
enables transparency in government is “requiring
operations from us more
than greetings.
 Citizens Charter a performance metrics tool They are asking
that enables greater transparency in service us, for the
delivery sake of the
 Customers have all information required to city, to look
exact accountability in service delivery at the numbers,
through documented frontline services study them,
question them.”
 Stimulates greater stakeholder - A Nagueño,
participation and facilitates the flow of after looking
at the city’s
information, which further drive down budget and finances at the
city website
operating cost

16. Outcomes
 Made the procurement system work for government
through reduced costs
 Road construction – 38% lower than national government
standards
 Asphalt overlays – 47% lower
 Public school classroom – 36% cheaper
 Medicine – 19-70% lower than other local government units, 62%
lower than branded products imported by the national
government
 Supplies – up to 33% lower than local government standard.
 City Accountant’s Office estimates at least P10 million a
year in savings through transparent procurement
 As a result, World Bank considers Naga the
Philippines’ model city for good practices and
innovations in procurement

17. TxtServe Naga, Reloaded
■ i-GOV’S MOST PROMISING FRONTIER
■ TXTNAGA Hotline – a
locally managed and
controlled SMS messaging
system
 Consists of
 a PC
 a GSM/GPRS modem ADVANTAGES:
 TXTNAGA hotline with ■ Locally managed, and therefore more
flexible, instead of being network
Globe Telecoms dependent
(0917-TXTNAGA or ■ More accessible to ordinary citizens.
0917-8986242), and P1.00 per SMS sent vs. P2.50 under the
 SMS applications 2960 service
developed by a local ■ More cost-effective in the long-run
programmer

18. The Challenges Ahead
 Sustaining our gains
 Ensuring stream of competent leaders
 Continuing corporate strengthening
 Continuing community organizing, people
empowerment
 Sharing our gains
 Attainment of vision: economic empowerment
 “Inclusive” development: everybody benefits in the
process