The Pasig City local government convened the City Development Council for the first semester of the year on Tuesday, April 4.

Around 250 members of the departments and offices of the local city and barangay governments, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) - Pasig Field Office and civil society organizations (CSOs) participated in the meeting at the Rizal High School Gymnasium.

Some of the officers from the city hall and CSOs were sectoral committee co-chairs of the development council.

The meeting was organized by the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) which serves as the council’s secretariat.

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto and Vice Mayor Robert "Dodot" Jaworski Jr. led the meeting.

(Pasig PIO / MANILA BULLETIN)

Among the agenda of the meeting were reports on the capacity building of CSOs, particularly in terms of planning and sectoral representation or election of organizations within local special bodies. These were previously discussed through CSO workshops last October 2022.

The process and result of project identification of CSOs for the 2024 Annual Investment Program (AIP) were also reported.

The report included consolidated project ideas and outlines for city-wide implementation from the CSO Workshop on Local Governance Engagement and Participation held last March. A total of 72 CSO leaders joined the activity.

The AIP refers to the proposed programs, projects, and activities (PPAs) and their corresponding estimated budget allocation for the next year. The AIP was presented to the Local Finance Committee (LFC) to evaluate their compliance to the streamlined budgets and statutory mandatory obligations.

The CPDO consolidated the AIP and analyzed the budget for the PPAs.

(Pasig PIO / MANILA BULLETIN)

The 2023 Supplemental Budget, schedule, and status of AIP 2024 activities were also addressed in the meeting.

The CDC is one of the local special bodies that determine the mechanisms to ensure active citizen participation in governance through CSO representation, according to the Local Governance Code (LGC) of 1991 and Executive Order No. 471, series of 1991.

CDCs are mandated to have a maximum of 25 percent of members from CSOs. Local governments are also required to host at least two CDC meetings in a year.

The Pasig local government continues to include the input and proposals of CSOs in order to strengthen participatory governance in Pasig. This involves integrating active CSO consultation and support in project and program conceptions, implementations, and reviews within every sector of the local government.

RELATED STORY: Pasig LGU establishes civil society organization academy