The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and its training arm disclosed on Saturday, August 14, that it is spearheading the establishment of a platform to strengthen local-level cooperation among local government bodies of ASEAN Plus Three (APT) member countries in battling the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said the establishment of an ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Network of Local Government Units (LGUs) will further enhance and maintain the regional cooperation and partnership at the local level especially at this time when there is a need for a greater collaboration not only at the national level but also at the local levels of governments.
“The continued emergence of new variants of concern (COVID-19) and the necessity to fast-track vaccination rollout highlights the need for even greater cooperation not only at the national level but also of local governments,” Año said.
The ASEAN Plus Three (APT) member countries consist of ten ASEAN Member States and the People's Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.
Año, who was represented by DILG Assistant Secretary Odilon Pasaraba during the recent APT meet, said that in this pandemic, local governments have been at the forefront of directly responding to the needs of their constituents while facing seemingly insurmountable challenges.
“We have seen the full potential of our local governments in advancing development through innovations they initiated and implemented within their communities such as new food supply and distribution channels, establishment of mobile testing laboratories and clinics, and migration of local government services to online platform,” he added.
Año noted that these local government best practices can be emulated and replicated by other local government bodies in the APT member countries and can even expand beyond the area of health governance through the establishment of a platform to sustain the local-level cooperation.
“Through this activity, we hope to inspire efforts for deliberately building up our local governments for regional level cooperation and action,” Año noted.
The networking workshop brought together representatives of local governance bodies of APT states to discuss the role of local governance bodies in achieving shared goals and a call to action for local governance bodies to carry out specific efforts to advance regional integration.
“The community blueprints of the ASEAN 2025 emphasize the importance of creating a culture of good governance and mainstreaming the principles of the vision into government policies and practices. If we want to realize the vision of having the benefits of our regional community and integration felt at the grassroots level, then achieving local government action is integral,” Año said.
The workshop focused on initiating discussions among country representatives on governance systems in each country; LG experiences on Inter-Local Cooperation; Political & Fiscal Autonomy, and Public Service Delivery responsibilities; LGUs' Capacities to support the ASEAN Community Vision 2025; and preparing for an APT Network of LGUs. (Chito A. Chavez)