Governance & Social Accountability Mechanisms - Naga City, Philippines

1. Governance & Social Accountability Mechanisms - Naga City, Philippines JESSE M. ROBREDO Mayor, Naga City Philippines

2. Showcase Initiatives

3. Limitations and Challenges • 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

4. Kaantabay Mechanics • Conceptually, program is a form of social housing. Its core is securing tenurial rights for urban poor beneficiaries • Accomplished by acquiring occupied landholding through various innovative schemes • City government plays a critical facilitative and mediating role • When negotiations are completed, beneficiaries amortizes homelots under very affordable terms through community mortgage • Urban poor embraced as partner-beneficiaryof the program

5. Outcomes • Innovative approaches to land acquisition, community development and project financing enabled achievement of near universal coverage • Covered a total of 8,763 urban poor households, representing 30 percent of the total citywide, as of December 2005.

6. Accountability Mechanisms • Community Organizing – A necessary first step • There are now around 80 urban poor associations belonging to the Naga City Urban Poor Federation (NCUPF) compared with the only nine in 1989 • Tripartism - Mechanism that enables involved parties to sit down and cooperate in solving disputes. Includes: • city government and other national government agencies; • urban poor associations, aided by NGOs and POs; and • private landowners

7. Institutional Structures • Naga City Urban Development and Housing Board - defines, monitors and evaluates city’s urban development directions; sets policies governing Kaantabay program • Composed of 20 members, half comes from government, other half from civil society. Equal sharing by NGO and NCUPF representatives • Naga City People’s Council (NCPC) - federation of local NGOs and POs. Mandated to partner with city government under Empowerment Ordinance of 1997.

8. NGO-PO Council • Precursor of the Naga City People’s Council • A loose coalition of NGOs and POs which sought to work with City Hall in maximizing potentials of the LGC • Initiated city’s engagement with local NGOs and POs • Facilitated by “open” city hall • Built up confidence among progressive sector • Affirming advantages of being inclusive and participative on the part of the city government

9. People Empowerment Program • Multi-level consultation mechanisms • Specific sectors, groups, or the entire constituency can participate in identifying and affirming developmental priorities • Referendum on development issues • On August 6, 1993, Naga pioneered a citywide referendum when three development issues were submitted to Nagueños for decision • City government demonstrated that participation even at this scale works • The Empowerment Ordinance and the Naga City People’s Council • Through landmark legislation, a system of partnership was established encouraging federation of NGOs and POs into the Naga City People’s Council (NCPC) • Institutionalized system of self-regulation among NGOs and POs in the city

10. Naga City People’s 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 right to information

11. Governance Framework • 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 Guided by its experience, Naga City evolved its own governance model The Naga Governance Model

12. The i-Governance Program • 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 city government to meet the challenge of sustaining innovative approaches by: • Doing more with less • Improving and ensuring equitable service delivery

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

14. The Citizens CharterGREATER ACCOUNTABILITY IN SERVICE DELIVERY • A guidebook on 130 key services being delivered by the City Government to 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

15. www.naga.gov.ph • 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 statements • bid tenders, and bidding outcomes • 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

16. TxtServe NagaA MOBILE GOVERNANCE ENGAGEMENT TOOL • Allows citizens to send complaints, other concerns to City Hall through SMS or text messaging • Previously uses Smart Telecommunication’s 2960 facility • Reconfigured early this year to meet local needs more fully • Owned by city government, instead of being Smart network dependent WHY IS D YOUTH CNTER\'S POOL W/C S SUPPOSD 2 B PUBLC POOL BEING CLOSED COZ PRIVATE SKOLS\' P.E. STUDENTS R USING D WHOLE POOL EXCLUSIVELY? why?

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 • TXTNAGA hotline with Globe Telecoms (0917-TXTNAGA or 0917-8986242), and • SMS applications developed by local programmers ADVANTAGES: • Locally managed, customizable and therefore more flexible, instead of being network dependent • More accessible to ordinary citizens. Less than P1 per SMS sent vs. P2.50 under the 2960 service • More cost-effective in the long-run

18. Participative Planning and Budgeting • Adopt the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Public Governance System (PGS) vision-mission statement and scorecards as plan targets • No need to reinvent the wheel and go through time-consuming visioning process • Updating local land use and development plans with 9-year time horizon • Revisit outputs and refine targets set • Align city plans towards attaining these targets

19. PGS Roadmap for Naga

20. Sectoral Planning • Tap 16 existing and mandated councils in coming up with sectoral components of local plans • There is already more than adequate GO-CSO representation • Deliverables: • Establish baseline data • Assess needs • Craft programs, projects and activities (PPAs) that will respond to these needs Cost out these PPAs, and • Lay out 9-year action plan for implementation, monitoring and evaluation

21. Sectoral Councils as basic planning unit • Social Sector • Children’s Council, Women’s Council, Health Board, Urban Poor, Senior Citizens, Youth Council • Economic Sector • Investment Board, Livelihood Council, Agriculture and Fisheries Council, Tourism • Environmental Sector • Solid Waste, Airshed, Watershed Councils • Development Management • Association of Barangay Councils, Peace and Order, Housing and Urban Development Board • Infrastructure Sector • Infra and Utilities, Transport City Development Council

22. Advantages • Higher data quality • Stakeholders will have opportunity to validate and reconcile official (i.e. those collected, generated by the local government staff) and non-official data (community-based) • Shared ownership and responsibility on outputs • More strategic role for local councils and special bodies

23. Participative Budgeting • Planning process involving NCPC has positively influenced local budgeting processes of the city government • Ensured alignment of local budgetwith the city vision and mission statements and scorecards that incorporate the MDGs Local Special Bodies Departmental Planning and Budgeting with Sectors NCPC Sanggunian Committees Sectoral Councils

24. Lessons • Local society must secure strong voice • Variety of social accountability mechanisms exist, one often building up on others • Local planning and budgeting can further institutionalize accountability • There is always a better way