Quirino Governor and Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) President Dakila "Dax" Cua was elected as president of the United Cities and Local Governments-Asia Pacific (UCLG-ASPAC), making him the first Filipino to assume the leadership post during the 9th UCLG ASPAC Congress in Yiwu, China recently.
Cua vowed to promote localized empowerment through strengthened regional ties and youth engagement as head of the UCLG-ASPAC, which is the "key knowledge management hub on local government issues in the Asia Pacific region, and the only officially recognized voice of local governments by the United Nations."
"The future is local! By empowering local governance and working with each other, we can foster growth that directly impacts the people, where cooperation go beyond national boundaries, and where every person, regardless of gender, race, age, or class, is provided equal opportunities to thrive and succeed,” Cua said.
“This is a historic and humbling moment. Definitely we will do our best to fulfill this great responsibility,” he added.
The 9th UCLG Asia Pacific Congress held from Nov. 13 to 15 gathered a diverse group of more than 500 local leaders and stakeholders from the Asia-Pacific region and other parts of the world.
The participants include representatives from cities and local governments, local government associations, relevant ministries, international organizations, training institutions, academicians, youth representatives and related private companies who will be working together under the theme: "Advancing Balanced Economic Development for Asia and the Pacific."
Organized in collaboration with the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Yiwu Municipal People's Government, the Congress seeks to offer "valuable insights and foster meaningful discussions" on the critical issues of balanced economic development in the region.
Cua underscored the role that the Congress plays in deepening local leaders’ knowledge on local governance.
“The Congress is a great opportunity for the Philippine delegation to learn best practices and establish connections with various potential partners for local development. We look forward to applying everything that we learn here for the benefit of all local governments in the country,” he said.