MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Nov. 26 (PIA) -- Local government executives and representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs) from the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur underwent a two-day seminar workshop on planning, budgeting, revenue generation, procurement, debt and accountability.
The event, aimed to enable both LGUs and CSOs to better understand the processes and intricacies of local public finance, was held in Davao City on November 24-25.
“Public finance is not as complex as it appears once stakeholders learn to analyze public finance records, track expenditures and find alternative ways to raise revenues for the LGUs,” retired UP Prof. Leonor Magtolis Briones said.
Briones, a former national treasurer is the lead convener of Social Watch Philippines and Chair of Kaakbay Partylist, along with its network of CSOs called Alternative Budget Initiative (ABI) which engage the executive and legislative branches of government, including LGUs, in public finance processes.
Briones said the workshop seminar hopes to be the start of getting people involved in the local "kaban ng bayan" in ARMM area.
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Mujiv Hataman, who took part in the event, also provided insights on the importance of local public finance in local governance and what needs to be done.
He encouraged CSOs to participate in the formulation of policies, programs, and projects for local development. “This is a right protected by the Constitution and the Local Government Code,” he said.
Hataman, however, challenged the participants to be independent in the monitoring and assessment of the performance of LGUs and their officials.
According to him, the seminar-workshop is just the beginning adding that the regional government will work towards bringing the initiative to all LGUs in the region.
At the end of the two-day event, the participants, who were mostly budget officers, treasurers, assessors, planning officers, state auditors, and finance committee members and representatives of local development councils and CSOs, came up with joint assessment and plans to get the involvement of citizens in local public finance processes to ensure transparency and accountability in their respective areas.
The plans also included improving their spending priorities and revenue efforts.
The seminar-workshop was organized by the Social Watch Philippines in partnership with United Nations Development Programme, Civil Service Commission, and the Department of Interior and Local Government. (Social Watch/armmcommgroup/APB-PIA 10)
No comments