Title of Article: Participatory Governance in the ... · Title of Article: Participatory Governance in the Philippines: Empowering Selected Cities in Metro Manila through Community

Title of Article: Participatory Governance in the Philippines: Empowering Selected Cities

in Metro Manila through Community Involvement

Name of Author: Ronaldo S. Pante, University of Santo Tomas, Manila PhD Political Science

Faculty: De La Salle- College Of St. Benilde - [email protected]

Abstract:

The prospects for good governance to some extent depend on various institutional agencies, departments,

constituents as well as policy makers. Consequently, formulation of such policies and rules cannot ensure effective

enforcement without features of good governance through active participation of the citizens. This study looks into

the sustainability of good policies and people’s participation that in effect bring about effective local governance of

a particular community. The purpose of involving people in governance is to transfer power and influence to

individuals and communities. It seeks to appreciate diversity by engaging with different people and groups within

local communities and involving them in making decisions about important issues. Subsequently, participation

improves services, enhances democratic accountability and contributes to social justice. The growing population of

the study's target cities serve as a challenge to local officials to motivate and encourage the people to be part of

decision making. This research describes the role of constituents, local institutions, and civil society (NGOs) in

facilitating participatory governance. The study covered a critical analysis of the projects of local officials, and the

extent of people’s participation in the city governments of Marikina, San Juan, Valenzuela and Quezon from 2010 to

2013. Developments and events after June 2013 were not covered by the study. This case study analyzed the

experiences of local voters and constituents who regularly involve in the planning and processes of their respective

local governments by facilitating the community. The results found were relevant because community involvement

is generally deemed an essential component and even a requirement of modern democracy. Participatory governance

includes local involvement whether an aim or a risk to democratic societies through representation. Before analyzing

the extent of participatory projects of local governance, it is essential to be aware how participants concerns are

acknowledged and discussed, not only by the voters, but more significantly local leaders with in the civil society.

Keywords: participatory governance, empowerment, community involvement, consultation, participatory

democracy, accountability, transparency

Manuscript Category: Research paper/ Dissertation

Introduction

Applying effectively democratic principles for local good governance does not start and end in the efficient

delivery of services; there is also a need for people’s participation and engagement process. Effective participation

requires a positive mutual cooperation between government commitment, virtues, and supportive institutional

design. Participatory governance shows a well-functioning representative democracy rather than just solving

common problems. Relevant topics in good governance have gradually become issues on growing concern in major

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cities in Metro Manila. This participatory governance is referring to one of many public institutional strategies that

contribute to shared visions in planning, budgeting, and monitoring of development policies and programs. These

institutional strategies should involve citizens more directly to decision-making processes, without disregarding

representational democracy. Many local governments have introduced participatory initiatives that have integrated

the public for engagement in key areas. Participation in public affairs is presumed to be a right of every citizen. It

emphasizes that the engagement of citizens in local development strategies contributes directly to achieving the

locally agreed development goals. The aims of this paper are to understand how participatory governance operates,

and to study its influence over the behavior of citizens and politicians over the final policy outcomes. Community

involvement is regarded as an important component of local governance and public administration. Good partnering,

informing, consulting, involving, nurturing values, collaborating with and empowering citizens in public policy

formulation, and service delivery can be connected more directly to decision-making processes and result in more

responsive local participatory governance. This paper discussed the concept of participatory governance as the main

focus of the study in the context of community involvement including major cities in Metro Manila mostly received

awards in good governance in the past three years (Marikina, San Juan, Valenzuela and Quezon City). Incorporating

people’s participation of these four cities could further improve local city governance and the process of identifying

priorities and solutions to problems, and also open new and creative opportunities to address challenges. People’s

participation could help cities further improve their social and economic status.

This research has relevance to the formulation of better “local governance”. It is expected that the people are

regulated from their culture and behavior of being passive and in the end, result to the situation that they are at least

part of the entire proceedings of democratic processes. Moreover, it is the idea that local governments are expected

to be engaged at participatory governance strategies with conflicting interest of their goals and different ideas of

interpretation. The study covered a critical analysis of the projects of local officials, particularly the offices of the

city mayors of selected major cities in Metro Manila using the time frame years 2010- 2013. Developments and

events after June 2013 were not covered by the study. This study took into consideration the local officials' various

performance of their respective constituents in terms of community involvement and limited itself to the experiences

of the said cities in community involvement. The study empahasized on projects of these local governments that

have strong focus in community engagement and involvement.

This paper is expected to contribute to local leaders, as well as citizens, to better understand how participation

can make them more educated and responsible. In the development arena, this paper aims to contribute to the

increasing focus on a ‘rights-based approach’ to development, which argues for the rights of citizens to be engaged

in the decisions and processes which affect their lives. This study on the community participation in the above four

cities have both theoretical and practical significance. At theoretical level, the study aimed to discover and analyze

contributions not only to the strengthening of the development participatory governance in local cities but also to the

involvement of the community in civil society. At a practical level, the study provided local policy makers with

useful recommendations on the significance of community participation and which effort needed to improve the

participation of local people in development processes. The study showed that local government is not the only

proponent for developing participation, but also the civil society as a potential partner in contributing to the general

welfare and common good, that is in the local participatory development. This can be useful to government planners

and development institutions for effective partnership, consultation, collaboration or for empowerment to enlighten

local government officials and their constituents to look into their collaborative participatory processes which will in

effect invite stakeholders to become partners in the decision-making process. Finally, empowerment allows affected

concerned parties to be actors in their own development, with government and development partners helping

communities plan together and build local networks. Involving the community encourage collaboration and

inclusion , community representatives in the participatory process help to build trust and increase the likelihood that

affected communities are invested in and supportive of projects being done. Collaboration between researchers and

communities helps to ensure that communities invest themselves in activities, making data and results more

significant for the community, thereby “increasing the likelihood for a successful project with mutual benefits”

(Leung et al. 2004).

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Community participation also helps scholars achieve “better penetration of communities with more acceptable

and culturally relevant messages, and greater sustainability of the intervention activities and effects” (Beeker et

al.1998) .This study can be a very important contribution to the debate about participation because of the focus of

the attention on how participation is much more than just a neutral place where citizens can make themselves heard

and represent themselves. Conceptions of what citizens are and how they are supposed to behave are deeply

implicated in how participation is organized and put into practice (Leach et al. 2005). Thus, participation influences

how citizens can become involved and be represented. This is relevant in light of the objective of this paper to

understand the different ways in which citizens respond to participatory initiatives and the different forms of

community involvement that are achieved by participation.

In terms of research relevance, the findings of the study may be used for developing the participation and

collaboration of LGU-NGOs-voters and helping them identify their strengths and weaknesses to improve their

involvement. Furthermore, the results will provide the legislators with information and ideas regarding the present

status of LGU-NGO-voters tripartite partnership in community involvement. Local executives, NGOs and their

constituents served as recipients from the outcomes of the study by understanding better the extent of participation

that they may have in project planning, implementation, and monitoring. Researchers and scholars may find the data

valuable as it may provide an important contribution to the literature of participatory governance, especially in the

Philippine experience serving as guide in undertaking similar studies.

Research Objectives

The main aims or objectives of this study are: to determine to what extent is the participation of the people

in the different major cities previously cited, identify the major projects of city governments of Marikina, San Juan,

Valenzuela and Quezon City; to analyze the role of NGOs; to examine the contributory factors to the success or

failure of participatory governance; and to discuss the actions taken by the concerned LGUs. This study obligates

itself to add knowledge the formulation of a framework for effective local participatory governance.

This study reviewed the literature and various studies collected as believed to be considered as important to

the current research study. Based on the objectives mentioned above, the literature review emphasizes its discussion

on the following aspects of participatory governance: a great deal of literature exists on the subject of citizens

participation, role of NGOs, participatory governance and involvement .

Review of the Literature

The following literature indicates that there are some commonly accepted principles that can be applied in the

development and implementation of a citizen participation program.

Extent of peoples participation, methods, and approaches are as follows:

Gaventa (2004) puts forward six broad propositions of key issues for strengthening community

involvement in local governance. A key challenge according to Gaventa is a good relationship between constituents

and local institutions that affect their lives, and with his findings that empowering the relationships between citizens

and their local governments requires working on both sides of groups, concentrating on the two parties will

cooperate. Gaventa added that the need for new forms of involvement between citizens and the state requires

rethinking the ways in which constituents' voices are implemented and represented in the political activities with

re-conceptualization of the meanings of participation and citizenship in relation to local governance while the search

for new democratic processes in local governance is critical; he reiterated that there is a need to learn more about

how they work, for whom, and with what social justice outcomes. The findings of the paper located the debates

about community leadership and representation in the broader context of the changing nature of democratic

governance; explored more specifically the issues involved in linking participation, community leadership and

political representation; examined some recent examples of participatory governance that have been used in other

parts of the world to link community leaders, community participants and local representatives. Gaventa (2004)

highlighted the need to ‘work both sides of the equation’ by simultaneously focusing both on empowering citizens

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and communities, and enabling local officials and civil servants to understand and respond to community

empowerment. Ray et al’s (2008) work reinforced this point and also emphasized the importance of institutional

change to make community involvement in governance possible.

Geissel (2009) introduced catalog, explained participatory innovations and information local politics and

German’s experiences with participatory innovations at the local level. The paper illustrated how participatory

innovations can be assessed and presented some findings and discussed whether participatory innovations really can

solve conflicts of current representative democracies in local governance. Geissel (2009) referred to democratic

innovations as new practices introduced in order to improve the quality of democracy, independent of whether the

innovation in question has already been tried out in another system. The following four main democratic

participatory innovations were identified in Geissel’s study : Direct democracy in which individuals express their

will or can decide on a policy by popular vote, Co- and network governance: political representatives share their

decision-making power with other political actors such as citizens, civil society, and business groups (e.g.,

participatory budgeting). Consultative-discursive procedures in which procedures in which public policies are

discussed and advice is given to the decision-making bodies (e.g., Local Agenda 21).

Lowndes et al (2009) presented a diagnostic tool – the CLEAR model – that both anticipates obstacles to

empowerment and links these to policy responses, the model identifies five factors that underpin citizens’ uneven

response to participation (Lowndes et al 2006b). The findings of CLEAR tool argues that participation is most

effective where citizens: Can do—have the resources and knowledge to participate; Like to—have a sense of

attachment that reinforces participation; Enabled to—are provided with the opportunity for participation; Asked to

—are mobilized through public agencies and civic channels; Responded to—see evidence that their views have

been considered. The CLEAR diagnostic measure provides local leaders to look at citizens and ask questions about

their capacities, their sense of community and their civic organizations. It also asks them to examine their own

organizational and decision making structures and assess whether they have the qualities that allow them to listen to,

and take account of, messages from citizen participation.

Mohammadi, et al(2011) described the interrelationship between people’s participation in local government,

civic engagement and good governance. This was based on the survey questionnaire carried out among 400 citizens

in Torbat-Heydarieh, Iran. The findings revealed that the level of citizen’s involvement here is at the non-

participation level, as well as the rate of civic engagement is low. Therefore, in this case it was concluded, that

people’s participation and civic engagement have little contribution to the quality of governance in Iran. Local

government has a significant role on the development of community involvement, seeing that it is an institution

easily accessible to citizens, and is able to mobilize a large number of participants. By reviewing the literature, it

was revealed that, there is collaboration between people participation in local government, community involvement,

and good governance. Each one of these concepts affects each other, while these concepts can be affected from each

other reversely. The basic argument was that effective citizen participation in local government and involvement in

civic activities play a crucial role in promoting the quality of local governance.

Mapuva J.(2010) challenged facing decision-makers to develop models of local governance that can best

facilitate the involvement of civil society as well as how and how much civil society can contribute to the

establishment of good governance in a sustainable way. Mapuva claimed that civil society organizations exist as

political organizations, trade unions, human rights groups, community based organizations, and others. In

participatory governance “…citizens should have direct roles in public choices or at least engage more deeply with

substantive political issues and be assured that officials will be responsive to their concerns and judgments” (Cohen

and Fung 2004:27). Gaventa (2006:150) regards participatory governance as “deepening democratic engagement

through the participation of citizens in the processes of local governance”. In participatory democracy citizens

should be actively involved in matters that affect them by demanding accountability from the state ensuring

government’s responsiveness to service delivery and other societal needs (Jones and Weale, 1999:91).

Katorobo J (2005) mentioned that the role of civil society as one of the pillars of democracy is similar as at

the national level: to mobilize people into voluntary organizations in which they may achieve their objectives

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without waiting for the government, to act as watchdogs on the appropriateness of government policies and

programs, to act as subcontractors of local government service provision. These voluntary organizations mobilized

people at the grassroots and provide avenues for grassroots participation, self help, and self-governance. This is

quite different to local governance in the Philippines where there are just few practices of full local autonomy, and

still generally centralized.

Grant et.al (2011) argued that institutional reform to leadership in local government can improve the sector

in terms of both its democratic legitimacy and its operational efficiency. Although local officials still have to

empower themselves despite the fact that previous studies were focused and emphasized only on structural

reforms.Grant, et al (2011) claimed that reforms of local government have created an Australian local government

sector which lends itself to changed arrangements for local political leaders and to elected executives, such as the

need to participate effectively in a wider decision making.

Salanguit-Puatu (2011) described the impact of local government leadership on community capacity

building by describing how local political leaders influence: (1) the dynamics between the various stakeholders in a

community, and (2) the policy structures and the overall direction of the community‘s development agenda. In

particular, the study adopted the case of Naga City Philippines, to exemplify the impact of leadership describing the

changes in the city government institutions, community decision-making , participation, economic performance

indicators and outputs under the direction of late Mayor Jessee Robredo. As Raquid-Arroyo shares in Naga, the

relationship between the government, civil society and the private sector are special…in the sense that the

government is open for people participation and the people also have the disposition to actively and meaningfully

engage government .For Raquid-Arroyo, (2008) Robredo practically introduced the concept of people participation

into the psyche of the Filipino. ― its notion started after the Edsa Revolution in 1986 and was established and

supported by the 1991 Local Government Code. She added that the late Robredo‘s leadership was critical for the

implementation of participatory forms of governance in their city because he, not only facilitated the engagement

between the local government and the people but also fueled its subsistence and allowed its progression. Raquid-

Arroyo(2008) included on her findings that political leaders have the capacity to build communities, not only

through their political will to implement activities relevant to the economic growth of their communities, but more

importantly by developing other individuals to become leaders in their own right.

Withanachchi (2011) emphasized that in Sri Lanka, local government institutions, administrative divisional

secretaries, civil society and the business community are the entities of local governance at the grass roots

governance level that directly involve participation of the general public. The article claimed the effect of local

governance on poverty alleviation and observes people’s direct involvement in relation to their socio – economic

development in the local governance political body. This application of people’s participation through social capital

for the development process depends on the social context. Withanachchi (2011) discussed the engagement of the

local governance process in supporting the well-being of individuals who were affected by the Tsunami, especially

women, by alleviating poverty

Sansom (2012) claims were more on the changing role of mayors, and how that role might be strengthened

to fill one of several significant gaps in research and discussion of political governance in Australian local

government. It reviewed relevant literature and recent developments in Australia, New Zealand and the UK, and

concluded that if local government will perform effectively and meet growing community expectations, the capacity

of its political arm needs to be enhanced. In that regard, the office of mayor seems a good place to start. His findings

have included the increasing emphasis on governance as opposed to government; introduction of the growing

importance of closer engagement with a broad range of stakeholders – notably local communities, nearby councils

and central governments; and the perceived need for stronger political and community leadership.

Morris, R. (2012) studied one of the key priorities identified in the Capacity Building Strategy for Rural-

remote and Indigenous Local Government, it was the ‘governance development and community engagement’ .This

priority area of this study highlighted the need for improving community involvement to underpin council decision-

making so it better reflects community aspirations, needs and priorities. The findings included the main issues

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around community engagement related to: generally low levels of Indigenous community participation and

engagement in Rural remote indigenous local government decision-making processes, and a poor understanding of

effective community engagement methodologies, particularly for engaging ‘hard to reach’ community groups local

government. The International Association of Public Participation (IAP2) framework for public participation is

among the most widely used guides on community engagement in Australia and elsewhere. Yet the framework

makes no specific reference to community involvement. Rather it adopts the term ‘public participation’.

Soonhee Kim (2012) analyzed the impact of citizens’ engagement in various participation programs on the

participants’ assessment of transparency in local government, examining the relationship between citizen

participation and transparency, the study focused on two dimensions of citizen participation: citizen engagement in

participation programs and online and offline participation programs. His findings includes the belief that citizens

assessment of transparency is measured with citizens’ perceptions of openness, corruption, two-way communication

with citizens, and fair and increased opportunities to participate in local government. Using the 2009 Citizen Survey

data from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the study found out that citizen engagement in participation

programs (both online and offline) was positively associated with their assessment of government transparency. He

also found out that the citizens who engaged in online participation programs had no higher level of their assessment

of transparency in local government than the citizens who engaged in offline participation programs. Citizen

participation research has been progressed significantly over the last two decades (Thomas 1993; Cooper, Thomas,

and Meek 2006; Reddick 2011; Royo, Yetano and Acerete 2011; Scott 2006; Yang and Callahan 2005). Researchers

and practitioners have emphasized citizen participation in public administration as a means of collaborating with

citizens to promote democratic values such as transparency and accountability (Thomas 1993; Cooper, Thomas, and

Meek 2006; Irvin and Stansbury 2004; Fung 2006; King, Feltey and Susel 1998; Nelson and Wright 1995; Weeks

2000).

Nikkhah (2010) studied the role of NGOs towards sustainable community development. They have many

programs, functions and roles which assist community to become empowered, and later achieved sustainable

development. The study enumerated programs to improve the economic well-being of communities by job creation/

income generation. Moreover, by following certain procedure, economic empowerment contributes to sustainable

community development. NGOs, through capacity building, develop community capacities such as ability, skill and

knowledge of mobilizing resources, planning and evaluating community initiation and solving problems to gain the

mastery over their lives. The study claimed that encouragement of the people to participate in the projects helped

them to improve quality of their lives. Participants attended meetings, planned community activities where NGOs

contribute towards sustainable community development, mobilize the communities to be self-reliant where NGOs

can help people to improve their own skills and depend on their own resources. The programs and functions of

NGOs could contribute towards the realization of sustainable community development. The “bottom-up approach”

in community development was mentioned. Empowerment was discussed at the level of individual empowerment

(changes in skills, knowledge, consciousness and awareness, hope, action and beliefs in abilities to affect change)

and changes in wider social structures and processes that result in increased resources and opportunities (Verity

2007).

Pastor (2011) discussed human development and sustainability of participation processes where new social

realities require integrated strategies for development planning local development. In this study, the findings

covered social inclusion and local development as essential and inseparable dimensions in the management of

analysis and intervention strategies for sustainable integrated municipal level (Pastor, 2009a).This claim allows new

processes involved in analysis and community intervention from a creative and innovative review of the roles of

different stakeholders .Participation is deeply linked to human development, social sustainability (Munday, 2001,

UNDP, 2002, 2003, 2008, Alguacil, 2005, 2008, Pastor, 2009a), one of the keys in the policies that underpin Social

associated with social integration. Engaging civil society and citizens’ groups in public management have promoted

accountability of the public sector.The idea of engaging the people in the management of public affairs is a key

dimension of good governance (Brillantes and Tiu Sonco II,2007).

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Manasan et. al. (2009) concluded that participatory mechanisms allow local governments to get a wide

consensus on local issues and the necessary commitment to intervene quickly and flexibly. They also permit those

outside the local government to restrain its actions while making the LGU more responsive to people's needs and

preferences. The study claimed that if the LGU has the people's interest at heart, it is unlikely to understand what the

people's needs are in the absence of a functioning feedback mechanism. According to their findings, if the LGU is

not equipped to listen, it will not be responsive to the diffused interests of the community, especially those of the

minorities (urban poor, farmers, fisherfolk, indigenous cultural communities and women) who usually do not have a

strong voice to articulate their demands (Manansan et. Al, 2009). The study concluded that there are alternative

ways to determine the extent of citizen participation in local affairs through the use of experiential surveys whereby

residents are asked about their participation in NGOs and barangay affairs; and their perception of NGO/barangay

influence in LGU affairs. The other way is by evaluating the extent of participation of NGO or private sector

representatives in local special bodies through the use of administrative data.

Kiyaga-Nsubuga and Olum (2009) considered that the major focus of thedecentralization policy was on

empowering citizens to participate in decisions thataffect their localities.The findings explained that there are serious

challenges facing citizen participation in local development. It seems that citizens cannot participate in local affairs,

unless they are empowered. ‘Empowerment’ refers to the political process of expanding the space for citizens to

exercise their freedom of choice and action to have more control over resources and decisions that affect their lives

(cited in Deepa 2002).The findings discovered that the key challenge was the low level of civic education among the

population which constrains them from participating fully in the development of their areas.

Research Questions

This study analyzed the nature and processes of community involvement of local governance, in particular

how city government carry out specific and concrete development programs on participatory governance.

To what extent do the local government units of Marikina, Quezon City, Valenzuela and San Juan

demonstrate participatory governance from 2010 to 2013?

a. What are the major projects that the city have developed and implemented for the past three years?

b. What are the mechanisms that have been put into place to facilitate people participation?

c. What role did NGOs play in the development and implementation of said projects?

d. To what factors could the success or failure of projects be attributed to?

e. How did the local government units address the contributory factors and problems that led to the

failure/success of projects?

The tripartite influence (See Figure I ) was the theoretical framework for this investigation. Thompson et al.

(1999b) developed this model based on belief that the three institutions in this framework should work altogether to

achieve successful participatory local governance. This model provides a useful framework for understanding the

possible role of certain influences on the said institutions. Although this investigation will not empirically test or

validate this framework, but somehow will use to guide research questions on the role of NGOs as part of civil

society, the extent of participation of the people or constituents, as well as identifying participatory projects of the

four selected cities. The three institutions have recognized and agreed that tripartite responsibility reflects the state

of their knowledge and understandings. In the Philippine context, the role of local government officials are relevant

in motivating the people to participate.

The conceptual framework (See Figure II) serves as the research scheme of this study. It adopts the

systems approach otherwise known as the “input transformation- output model”( Hill 1991:57, Slack et al.1998: 9-

17) the model involves transforming inputs into outputs which have accomplished by combination of processes.

The transformation process of the conceptual framework of this study refers to the four cities mentioned

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that have received awards for good governance. Their projects were identified and analyzed for motivation of their

constituents to participate towards participatory governance. The actualization of their participatory projects have

made a semblance of citizens engagement in which the output depended on the extent of participation upon the

objectives and goals pursued by involvement of the citizens .

Research Methods

This is a case study method where actions related directly from each city. This served as an empirical

inquiry that investigated a phenomena within cities in real life context. It focused on people’s participation whether

there is community involvement in decision making or project development/implementation and finally to what

extent is participation demonstrated in the four selected cities. This is an ideal method specially needed in a holistic

and in-depth investigation of the four cities. This study was conducted with people who became part of local

participation, through proper channels which obtained from the different active NGOs within local city government.

The researcher used field notes, participant- observation, interviews, documents, video recordings with a mixed

qualitative -quantitative techniques but not more on statistical analysis. Qualitative work here was useful for gaining

a fuller picture of a local participatory governance and its context, exploring complex in community engagement

issues, understanding in depth the reasons underlying certain views or behaviors.

Findings

Figure III shows that the foremost projects for participatory governance implemented for the years 2010 to

2013 in Quezon City, were Peace and Order as ranked number one (1) by the LGU respondents, and Education, as

ranked first among six choices by the NGO and city constituents. On the top three ranked programs of the city for

participatory governance Education, Peace and Order and Food and Housing were ranked accordingly by the NGO's

and citizens; on the other hand, Peace and Order, Food and Housing and Education were ranked accordingly by the

LGU respondents. Another important dimension of local participatory governance is education of citizens. This

category includes tools for making citizens aware of their rights and responsibilities (civic education), as well as a

variety of innovative methods for helping citizens collectively learn about and deliberate on issues of priority public

concern. Regardless of the ambiguity in research on community-based school management, the reality is that

education is a critical service for all communities—especially those in transitional and developing nations.

Figure III shows that the foremost projects for participatory governance implemented for the years 2010 to

2013 in Marikina, were education, as ranked first among six choices by the NGO and city constituents, and peace

and order as ranked number one (1) by the LGU respondents. Moreover, according to the figure, the top three

ranked programs of the city for participatory governance, were education, food and housing, and peace and order as

ranked accordingly by the NGO's and citizens, also; Peace and Order, Food and Housing and Education were among

the highest three as ranked by the LGU's accordingly.

Major participatory projects that has developed

a . Marikina

The shoe capital of the country is moving towards the biking capital as well, a fifth of the workforce rolled

on two wheels and shear sweat power . That is because up to 20% of Marikina City residents were able to ride a

bicycle to work when “The Bicycle-friendly City” program of Marikina was completed in 2010. An idea thought up

by the city government, which has introduced a cycling revolution of sorts since 1999. Cycling was their answer to

the increasing gas prices. “Bicycles are their provider of affordable mobility.” Aside from lower transport cost over

short distances, cycling also reduces vehicle gas emissions thereby leading to better health. Promoting bicycle use

among Marikeños is seen as the main objective to increase the utilization of bicycles as an alternative mode of

transport within the city. Focus was shifted from the bikeways of from infrastructure development towards

behavioral change or actual use of bicycles.

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In an interview with Mr. Harvey Curry (Chief Coordinator of Community Relation Office- CRO 2010-present)

he emphasized that in order to make the city government projects closer to the people and even to the homeowners

organizations, the Community Relations Office administered organizational community projects, community build

up, leadership/organizational management, training and seminar, community request/complaint chart, information

dissemination, and CRO Assistance. Moreover, the office also administered dialogues and consultative meetings to

community organizations for the people to be aware of participatory projects on the effective delivery of services

done by the local government.

Marikina has led a training workshop for volunteers. The city, in coordination with the City Disaster Risk

Reduction Management Council (CDRRMC) and the local government of Marikina conducted a three-day training

workshop between March 19 and 21, 2012 to increase the effectiveness of volunteers and quality of volunteer

service to citizens and communities. The event entitled, Volunteer Management Systems Training Workshop, for

disaster volunteers from different non-government organizations (NGOs). The workshop was aimed at discussing

the definition and roles in volunteering, assess each NGOs capacity in managing volunteers, and creating an action

plan in setting up volunteering management systems for Marikina for further community involvement.

The city government of Marikina installed closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in strategic locations

to deter crimes and monitor the water level at the Marikina River. Mayor Del de Guzman said the CCTV cameras

could help save lives to promote vigilance in the city as part of their participatory mechanisms. Key elements that

contributed to the success of local tripartism in Marikina were as follows: Mayor’s political will and the

commitment to conduct social dialogue on the part of the parties; participation of independent workers’ and

employees’ organizations with access to information relevant to social dialogue; appropriate institutional support;

Respect for fundamental rights; information sharing and consultation beyond of issues; serious and consistent

attitude of the local government vis-à-vis the institutionalization of the system; tripartite agenda that was focused on

the development needs of Marikina and all the stakeholders; Confidence-building measures which paved the way to

the formalization of the tripartite system; mechanisms to implement tripartite decisions put in place; and the

consensus on sustaining tripartism as a driver to a better future for Marikina (Prof. Rene E. Ofreneo, School of

Labour and Industrial Relations, University of the Philippine Strengthening LGU Capacity in Development and

Employment Promotion in Marikina City).

Marikina City has signed a deal with non-government organizations (NGOs) and the private sector to boost

the city’s capacity to overcome disasters like the killer typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng last year.

With regard to participatory mechanisms, almost all local cities mentioned above including their barangay

educates and informs the public about their project, there are visions and commitment to build appropriate institution

in order to improve access of LGU to local governance through policy reform and strengthening the Local Special

Bodies (LSB) such as Local Health Board, tourism, School Board, Peace and Order Council. They all promote

citizen volunteerism by participating in selected immersion programs, participatory planning forums and budget

public participation which extends to all stages of planning and implementation. In the context of direct

involvement, visited barangays in Quezon city and Marikina exhibited an extension of the citizen’s role beyond that

of voter examined a range of cases designed to promote active political involvement of the citizen.

In San Juan City, Barangay Onse requires a deliberation that rely upon the empowerment of ordinary

citizen & relevance. Although, City mayors of San Juan and Valenzuela encountered problems on willingness and

interest of some of their constituents to participate in their projects which requires effective communication and

consultation by improving substantive quality of decisions, addressing a particular political problem and the effort

to solve their concern under consideration. Vigilance as a mechanism in participatory governance has been part of

the majority projects of the four cities by installing cctv cameras in their selected barangays, the initiative to

investigate complaint against public servant for improper/corrupt purposes, reducing conflict by careful planning

and conducting surveys on performance evaluation and feedback mechanism to help government assess LGU

performance.

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b Quezon City

The following are the roles both the constituents and NGO’s perform in Quezon City to facilitate implementation

of city projects:

Figure IV shows the roles played by NGO’s and Constituents as well as the LGU's in Quezon City to facilitate

the implementation of City projects. This shows the extent by which participatory governance is applied to the city.

The leading roles in ranking were Development and Operation of Infrastructure, as ranked number one (1) by the

LGU respondents, and Facilitating Seminars/Communication, as ranked first among 11 choices by the NGO and

city constituents.

In Marikina ,there is the Batibot Early Learning Center, INC. a Non – Governmental Organization in

Marikina helping with educational purposes and sometimes a sort of day care center. Then there is the St. Maria De

Mattias Center, INC. formerly known as Blessed Maria De Matias Center an orphanage in Marikina with obvious

goals as an orphanage. Lastly Cribs Foundation, INC. it is a Non – Government Organization focusing on giving

temporary shelter to children and women, who are abused, neglected, and abandoned.

In Valenzuela ,the Non – Governmental Organization Odyssey Foundations, INC. it gives a feeding

program to many unfortunate families, who are really in need. Then we have the Ang Hortaleza Foundation

formerly known as Splash Foundation an NGO which gives basic first aid and mostly the Adopt a School Program

which just mainly helps the school.

San Juan City has their Clean Up Campaign wherein they are focused in cleaning up the San Juan-Pasig

River. To strengthen the local laws on the protection of waterways in San Juan City, NGO-CENRO forwarded to the

City Council a draft ordinance prohibiting the act of dumping any form of waste in the water systems of San Juan

City.

The local government of Quezon City performance in terms of participation of the people the local Government

of Quezon City shows good participation to the people they performed well by supporting and participating to Non-

Government organization and establishing projects to help the people. The active involvement of the QC residents in

the legislative process was the primary reason of the 18th Quezon City Council in organizing a seminar entitled,

Responsive Legislation through Active People’s Participation in barangays in QC. The seminar conducted in every

barangay was primarily the avenue of the council members to reach out to the barangay level in aid of legislation.

As part of the stance of the council in promoting transparency and accountability, the seminar aimed to deepen the

knowledge of the barangay officials, homeowners association, non-government organizations (NGOs), people’s

organizations (POs) and other residents of the barangay in the familiarization of the legislative process being used in

the council.

The Local Government Code directs local governments to build meaningful participation of the citizenry in

governance processes such as in local development planning and strengthen local development councils, both at the

barangay and city level, and other special bodies. The partnership between the Center for Popular Empowerment

(CPE), an NGO focused in advocating participatory urban governance and the promotion of political, economic, and

socio-cultural rights of the marginalized sectors in urban areas, and the city government of Quezon City began with

a training on “Sustainable And Rights-Based Approach To Barangay Development in Selected Barangays in Quezon

City” wherein CPE trained relevant staff in the area or barangay development.

The Center for Popular Empowerment (CPE) partnered with the Quezon City local government in the

implementation of participatory development planning programs in four pilot barangays. The process called

Barangay Development Planning through Participatory Learning and Action (BDP-PLA) is an approach which

involves the community members in data gathering, problem analysis and prioritization of needs, formulation of

community vision and mission, formulation of sectoral goals and objectives and preparation of the comprehensive

five-year development plan, annual investment plan and annual operational plan.

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c. San Juan

In 2010, the city conducted the Maytunas Creek Clean- Up project operation with the help of the MMDA,

PRCC, River Patrol, DENR- SCO, LBC Couriers, Sagip-Pasig Movement and other NGO’s. It was success because

they manage to lessen the dirt in the creek. In 2011, they have implemented the “Tapat ko, Linis Ko”(Cleaning my

own frontyard), a short program that advocates for clean environment which is aimed to remind the residents of San

Juan to maintain the cleanliness in and outside of their residences and its surroundings.

In 2012, the “San Juan Clean Up Drive” is aimed to clean the city after the monsoon wind struck the city with

force winds and rain. It was a success project because a resident of Brgy. San Perfecto sincerely thanked Mayor

Guia Gomez where they really felt the presence of Bayanihan- (People help each other).

In Barangay Onse,what this barangay has become and achieved all these years were attributed to how its council

have been able to elevate its one of the most- awarded and acclaimed communities not only in the City of San Juan,

the city of excellence. In addition to these, the good governance in this barangay has been practicing the past

decades. Barangay Onse truly has ‘treasures’ that can be passed on to the next generation. The consistent

achievements and recognitions in almost all aspects of barangay administration and governance as one of the

outstanding barangays of the country have not only brought pride and honor to the community, but the rest of the

people in the City of San Juan.

City of San Juan envisioned to be a place where every resident enjoys affordable health care - such as

medicines, professional medical service, hospitals and clinics - and economical nutrition. In their commitment to

better serve constituents, the city government of San Juan has adopted measures to further reach out to the poor by

making the amenities of modern medicine available at least possible cost.

“Protect and preserve our environment” was the message of Mayor Guia G. Gomez to the members of the SK

(Youth Council) of the 21 barangays in the City of San Juan. Based on the researcher’s interview with Mayor of San

Juan,three decades and a half ago, environmental advocate and entrepreneur she was already talking about climate

change .

Local government units are assessed and ranked based on administrative, socio-economic governance,

environmental and fundamentals of good governance, which include transparency, participation and financial

accountability. They were given a grade ranging from one to five, with one as the lowest and five as the highest. San

Juan can be quite easy to manage. It is compact, with just 600 hectares of an area and a population of 175,000.

However, size can be a disadvantage, according to Mayor Gomez. "When you make a mistake, it is easy to magnify

and everybody notices it. It comes right back to your doorstep." This explains the mayor's intense focus on

redevelopment and participation of the community.

d. Valenzuela

Former City Mayor Sherwin T. Gatchalian has participated in a dialogue participated by a local and

international delegation of stakeholders on critical urban issues that has been sponsored by the World Bank 2010,

highlighting the City’s experience and lessons on sustainable housing projects with the multi-stakeholder

partnership, consultation as an effective element to a successful slum-upgrading project. The Philippines Urban

Consortium hosted, the important project which shared a lot of information participated in by Local Government

Units (LGUs), national government agencies, People’s Organizations (POs), Non-Government Organizations

(NGOs), the academe, and foreign resource speakers from Thailand, Japan and the United States revolved around

the theme “City Competitiveness and Social Inclusion: Learning from Innovations.”

Through the invitation of Christopher Pablo, World Bank’s Senior Operations Officer for Sustainable

Development Department – Philippines, East Asia and the Pacific, the City Chief Executive spoke about the success

story of the City Government’s flagship housing project “Disiplina (Discipline) Village,” to provide valuable

opportunity for participants to learn more about slum improvement efforts for their respective localities. A

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collaborative partnership between the City Government, the private and business sectors, the non-government

organizations (NGOs) and the project beneficiaries themselves made Disiplina Village project a reality. Mayor WIN

emphasized the commitment of the City Government to address poverty by “investing on people to mold an

empowered community with responsible homeowners by making them active partners in developing their own

community. Community empowerment programs,such as trainings, exchange visits to other model communities and

social preparations has been formulated to further help them improve their impoverished situation,” he said.

The local government of Valenzuela created the Citizen’s Charter for the dawn of the information age has

signal the rapid development of new systems in governance that needs to address people's concerns without

sacrificing the quality of service and courtesy required of government employees. With this Charter, the public is

introduced to a guide on the standard of service that will afford them with the necessary information on how to

proceed with any type of transaction with the City Government. This also serves as a mechanism to promote

people's participation in governance by letting their voices heard. As such, also contained therein are the

communication channels where the public can provide comments and suggestions on the service they have been

provided with. And, if it so warranted, they also encouraged through the proper procedures and mediums, filing of

complaints in relation to requests and applications which were unsatisfactorily served. The support and vigilance of

the public are necessary to strengthen the entire system, and to improve on aspects and procedures which could have

been overlooked.

The local government of Valenzuela increased of investment for health and the City Health Office’s (CHO)

geriatric program gave the way to the city’s newest milestone as one of the “Champions of Health Governance” in

the country, distinguished by Merck Sharp & Dohme, the Kaya Natin! Movement for Good Governance and Ethical

Leadership, and the Ateneo School of Government, at the Bayleaf, Intramuros, June 20, 2013.

The Champions for Health Governance (CHG) is an initiative recognizing top performing Local

Government Units (LGUs) for excellent and efficient implementation of their local health programs on Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) 4, 5 and 6. Evaluation and screening of the health programs were based on their

effectiveness, innovativeness, community engagement, local leadership, and transparency and accountability.

Two weeks before classes started for School year 2014-15, volunteer students, teachers, parents and

private individuals cleaned their schools in Valenzuela City on the first day of the Department of Education’s

Brigada Eskwela (School Brigade) 2013. The program, also known as National School Maintenance Week, ran from

May 20 to May 25. At the Valenzuela National High School (VNHS) in Barangay Marulas, almost 200 volunteers

who have participated in freshening up the 32 classrooms in the four school buildings also included VNHS alumni,

members of civic and religious organizations, employees of private organizations and students from a local private

university. Aside from lending their hands, the volunteers has also donated cleaning and carpentry materials, as well

as floor tiles, wall fans, and an LCD projector, according to Florence Daco, the VNHS coordinator for School

Brigade.

Building barangay cooperatives is a way for people to collaborate according to former mayor Sherwin.

Different barangays in the city have their own activities where people get to collaborate and be encouraged in

making projects more for the whole city. Cooperatives as well unite all the families in one community, through

cooperatives, proper information dissemination and wider chances of improving collaboration not just among the

members of the society but as well as the government and the members of the community.Effective leadership,

transparency and accountability are important. People would participate if they see honest leadership in the

government that’s why the officials of Valenzuela made a “Charter” in order to promote accountability. They also

have daily newspaper in order for the citizens to know what the officials are doing. Local government of Valenzuela

City provides different actions to be able to solve the problems within the city. The city made a Social Hall and

Session Hall were the officials could work and have a meeting. Also they let the people and community to know

where the money goes and spent. Through the help of sisterhood agreement, Valenzuela City has a strong

connection with the Local Government Unit to learn the "best practices" to avoid the "ineffective participatory

governance practices" in leading.

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Further, the City Government of Valenzuela recognizes the Islamic constituents of as a vital force in the

progress of the city through a coordinating and advisory body to be known as the Valenzuela Muslim Affairs

Consultative Council (VMACC) in a formal ceremony held on March 25, at the Social Hall of the New Government

Complex. Established through Executive Order No.12, Series of 2013, the VMACC collaborated with the local

government in formulating plans, programs and policies to promote the welfare, interest and well-being of Filipino

Muslims in the city. It served as a link between the city government, and the public and private agencies involved in

such programs and projects and recommend positive actions necessary for its effective and efficient implementation.

It is a testimony of the city government’s efforts to include the local Muslim sector in policy formulation to further

ensure their active participation in the achievement of growth goals and aspirations aimed at the promotion and

enhancement of peace and order, economy, social welfare, cultural affairs and environment.

NGOs are organized on a local, national or even international level. NGO has a very important role in

building democracy in community. There are several NGOs in the Philippines and in each group organizes and

driven around a specific issue and interest they want to fight for such as in human rights and health, NGO build and

establish democracy because they are the organization between the people and the local government. The NGO’s

serve as speakers or workers for and behalf of the marginalized members of the civil society. They provide analysis

and expertise; serve as early warning and help monitor and implement international agreement. NGOs’ have been

playing a vital role in strengthening political, social, economic efforts in the country. Because of these NGOs and

the people behind them, a lot of poor people talked and shared issues to be solved and hopefully it has been solved

with the cooperation of the community and with the help of the entire participant in that organization. Leaders in

NGO have a goal, and to achieve that goal, everyone should cooperate and fight for everyone’s right just like

fighting for the country’s democracy. Local officials play an important role since they are the ones to rule and

control the community. They are responsible for the right actions and decisions to be made and established.

Voluntary participants are also responsible because they have the right to suggest and reject whether the thing has to

be done or not.

One of the most significant aim of local participatory projects in governance is education. This includes

mechanisms for making the members of the community knowledgeable of their basic rights and responsibilities as

good citizens (civic education), as well different inclusive methods for assisting the people collectively learn about

and deliberate on issues of priority public concern. Education and training are crucial in empowering citizens to

effectively participate in local governance, especially in cities that have experienced significant political change and

must quickly learn how to find and political intelligence.

The main finding of this case study is that participatory projects in the above local cities have resulted in a

wide variety of responses as well as approaches in terms of different forms of community involvement. In creating

citizens, it may seem that the expectations of the facilitators of participation have only partially been recognized.

The analysis makes it clear that the extent and approach of community involvement were also created in the

participatory processes.

Some local government officials decided to put a multi-stakeholder platform to discuss the approach and

local public administration of their city. With the aim to involve the public, government officials invited

representatives of organization that represents the interests of the small barangays), and the tourist industry to

participate in the platform. Also, outside of the multi-stakeholder platforms, participation was organized in the form

of information and discussion meetings.

Local Governments see participatory governance as a means to augment their legitimacy. As governments

have lost legitimacy and found their scope and decision-making being questioned, some have sought to regain

citizen confidence and improve performance through offers of inclusive decision-making to a range of other

interested groups. Measures have been taken at national and local levels, and have included further information,

formal consultation and increased accountability to citizens. There have been some notable attempts to reach out to

groups that have been excluded previously. Governments as far apart the Philippines have institutionalized multi-

stakeholder decision-making councils.

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Decentralization and local democracy have created a new generation of local politicians who are often

more committed to more participatory governance. Many of these politicians have strong links with local political

actors. One respondent mentioned different styles that provide the extent of participation in local governance:

awareness of the nature of powers of local government institutions, effective information dissemination of citizens

tasks in participation, and commitment of all stakeholders and government officials to jointly adopt local program

plans. Projects of both four cities are working to create an interactive discussion providing concerned citizens with

key information. One respondent also shared his experience and encountered problem-confrontation” empowering

the citizens. In the context of transforming “politics of governement” towards the “politics of governance”, the fact

that local government officials were given more powers citizens' participation in local governance has relevantly

developed. In the above cities of Metro Manila, most of the focus of participatory governance is at the local level.

The local government or the local offices of higher levels of government that have the most direct impact on the

lives and livelihoods of citizens – for instance, in the provision of water, sanitation and drainage, health care and

schools, the regulation and management of land for housing, building controls and spaces for informal businesses,

police and the rule of law, that most opportunities for civil society groups’ engagement with government exist.

However, often, it has been changed at the national level – for instance, through decentralization, legal changes and

local government reform – that have encouraged or allowed more participatory governance.

In Quezon City and Marikina particularly, these cities have proven that involvement of the citizenry in

disaster management has enabled families residing in disaster-prone areas to better cope with the impact of a hazard

and recover from the aftermath of a disaster . The four cities has comprehensive legislation to address disaster

events. The provisions of this law mandate that national, regional, provincial, city/municipal, and barangay officials

organize “Disaster Coordinating Councils/Committees” with different tasks and conduct activities to operationalize

these structures. A trained and organized citizenry can complement the work of the local authorities. They can

initiate activities that can be sustained even after the occurrence of disasters.

Participatory governance is referring to the venue of action with regard to policy or practice has to go

beyond single development. There are many participatory projects that involve citizens and local government in

localized decision-making but which do little to change government processes. Not all community involvement,

even participation with local officials, is participatory governance if it is limited in scope, scale and space.

Government’s engagement with individual citizens in individualized consultation and decision-making processes

may be considered good government, but it is not considered here as participatory governance. Participatory

governance implies the engagement of government with a group with interests beyond those of a single individual

(although members may not benefit equally). For this to take place, some sense of group identity and interest is

important, and this forms a starting point for a process of negotiation and collaboration between two or more parties.

NGOs

Local government relations are designed towards providing a consultative and collaborative participatory

mechanism to bring about effective local community involvement practices. The essence of collaborative

consultation is to have an efficient and effective trust, transparency and delivery of services at the local level which

is responsive to the needs and aspirations of the constituents. In theory, the extent of the participatory governance

and community involvement between the three sectors can be deduced from interviews and focus group discussions

and from the outcome of their performance. However, it seems that the planning and implementation of programs,

projects and activities that require NGO – local government consultation cannot be felt by the citizens or there is no

sufficient proof of their output. If in the planning process the extent of public participation and involvement would

be little hindrance in the implementation.

The people’s ability to participate in decision-making may depend on the mutual cooperation of the three

sectors in the local government and its ability to come up with services that will be truly effective and responsive to

their needs. In that sense, the resources of the local government unit may have a bearing on the partnership between

the LGU and the NGOs and their constituents. NGOs, in any sense, as partner of the LGUs become the bridge or

channel both in identifying the community needs and satisfying those, with participatory projects and activities that

14

are responsive. Recognized NGOs are helpful because they are aware and familiar with the community on the

ground. In addition, capable with enough resources and manpower, there is a notion that larger LGUs are effective

in consulting with NGOs compared to the smaller LGUs the execution of these plans will be the role of local

political leaders.

In Figure V ,referring to the factors that could be attributed to the success of city projects, in the case of Quezon

City, the leading factors in ranking were Timing, as ranked number one (1) by the LGU respondents, and Interested

topics, Objectives and purposes, as ranked first among 7 choices by the NGO and city constituents.

Moreover, the top three factors in Quezon City that attributed themselves to the success of city projects were,

Interested topics, Objectives and purposes, Choice of participants, and Timing, as ranked accordingly by the NGO's

and citizens, and; Timing, Budget/financial concern, and Interested topics, Objectives and purposes, as ranked by

the LGU's accordingly.

The factors that could be attributed to the success of city projects in Marikina, the leading

factors in ranking were Budget/financial concern, as ranked number one (1) by the LGU respondents, and Interested

topics, Interested topics, Objectives and purposes, as ranked first among 7 choices by the NGO and city constituents.

Moreover, the top three factors in Marikina that attributed themselves to the success of city projects were,

Interested topics, Objectives and purposes, Facilities, and Choice of participants, as ranked accordingly by the

NGO's and citizens, and; Budget/financial concern, Interested topics, Objectives and purposes, and Timing, as

ranked by the LGU's accordingly.

Figure VI shows the Actions Taken by the City Government Office of Valenzuela in trying to address issues on

the practice of participatory governance. Foremost ranking among the actions were Effective local legislation and

formulation of policies, as ranked number one (1) by the LGU respondents, and similarly Effective leadership,

training, transparency, accountability and political will of leaders in promoting public interest, as ranked first among

6 choices by the NGO and city constituents.

Moreover, the top three “actions” in Marikina ranked among a roster of actions taken by the LGU to address

issues on implementation of participatory governance were, Effective leadership, training, transparency,

accountability and political will of leaders in promoting public interest, Effective health, environment and sanitation

programs, and Poverty alleviation/providing livelihood programs, as ranked accordingly by the LGU's and citizens,

and; Effective local legislation and formulation of policies, Proper education and awareness campaign of the right to

organize and information, and Effective leadership, training, transparency, accountability and political will of

leaders in promoting public interest, as ranked by the NGO's and citizens accordingly.

In participatory governance there are situations which includes some and excludes other citizens, although

participation is often inspired by the desire to open up decision-making processes to wider audiences, it is clear that

it is impossible to involve everybody and that representation can never by complete (O’Neill 2001). Participation is

inevitably selective when it comes to who is able to participate. Some individuals recognized as relevant participants

are considered to be part of the citizenry, while those excluded are left without a voice, without a way to express

their involvement.

Conclusion

Participatory governance can work in local projects, program and strategic level. Transparency and

inclusivity in participatory planning process will produce local plans that addresses the presumed needs of the

community and can have strong local ownership by all stakeholders . Projects developed through these strategies

15

will have resilience and empowerment. A widely localized accepted local government projects helps mobilize urban

community resources, benefitting the private sector, NGOs, local governments and barangay communities. The

transparency of the planning process will allow development policy makers to be accepted to the national

government plans.

The extent of participatory projects can be utilized by local executives for data collection, consultation,

collaboration, joint decision making, or for empowerment through shared control. The methods can be employed at

different stages, from initial conceptualization through implementation, monitoring and evaluation. A single

initiative involves various groups and organizations in the extent of public participation interacting with local

agencies and development partners. The involvement of the people in the political process is an essential part of

participatory governance. Approaches and methods to augment community involvement in participatory governance

can be seen around the local community. Local Government must take a proactive role to determine that challenges

for community involvement exist. The idea to involve citizens in different activities, for example, rests with the

values of local government officials. The success and failures of participatory projects also depends on their

determination and sincerity in participatory governance, transparency, consultation and community involvement.

Local Communities are not only the venues to show vigilance, but also to organize public opinion for or against

local government rules and policies. NGOs often leads the conduct of vigilance projects and community groups and

facilitate the activities of such associations. Their role is important to shaping an environment of participation in the

community.

Voters-citizen-constituents including the business private sector have developed a very significant

responsibility in community involvement, whether through engaging in local participatory projects or public-private

sector collaboration and partnerships. The private sector performed a significant task in enhancing public

participation by extending support to media campaigns and effectively participating in Local Development Councils.

Empowerment at the local level can be a bridge toward empowerment at a higher level. When people

become confident in their ability to change local policies or solve local impediments, they may feel empowered to

discuss challenges. Empowerment in the local level of basic services can lead to engagement in more political

processes.

Community involvement is significant to achieve effective participation between decision-makers,

individuals and representative stakeholders to identify issues and exchange views on a continuous basis while

involvement is the extent and nature of activities undertaken by those who take part in citizens engagement;

consultation could be a dynamic process of dialogue between individuals or groups, based upon a genuine exchange

of views, and normally with the objective of influencing decisions, policies and programs of action. That every

consultation exercise possesses a clear mandate which explains the aims of the consultation; Identifying precisely

who are the decision-makers or which is the organization to be informed by the consultation, and the purpose for

which they will use the information and opinions gathered in the process; Developing a standard format for such

mandates and ensuring consistency with other consultations undertaken in other departments of the authority, so that

stakeholders’ understanding is assisted.

Community involvement at the local level has long been recognized as an essential element that improves

local participatory governance and the quality as well as responsiveness of public policies. In spite of this,

participatory local governance weaknesses in developing cities mean citizens often have less opportunities to

participate in designing the public policies that impact their daily lives. To generate such challenges, the four cities

selected in this paper provides consultation, community involvement, local special bodies and vigilance as

mechanisms to enable regular citizen participation in development programs and policies at the city level.

The specific form of participation will depend on the particular needs of the objective as well as local

conditions in project areas. The practice of applying a standard package of participation in all urban cityprojects

without a clear objective—by hiring NGOs, organizing beneficiary groups, conducting consultation workshops,

16

providing training courses, and developing village plans—is not necessarily effective or efficient and should be

discontinued.

The linkage between public participation and transparency can be difficult to establish. Clearly, well developed

strategies for public participation must build trust, promote accountability, strengthen commitment of all

stakeholders towards improved governance, and directly limit the potential for corruption.

The extent of community involvement varies from simply sharing of information to active engagement of

citizens in the implementation of projects and services. Projects and tools on how to implement approaches of

community involvement have also been based from stakeholder consultations and public hearings to community

vigilance groups and public-private partnerships. The most important factor to consider, however, is the

commitment of the local officials to share information and involve the community in public discussion. The views

of the citizens must not only be heard but also reflected in development decisions, thus making governments

responsive and accountable to the community. The purposes of local community involvement should be concise and

doable – to promote transparency-encouraging openness in government, consultation, vigilance of constituents and

build ownership of development decisions as well as programs and projects . Community involvement motivates

citizens to be more participative in the planning and organizing processes in local community, provide constituents’

acquiring knowledge the extent on how local government works, encourage the public with the challenge to be

involved and participate in local development program and projects. It aims a successful relationship between the

local government, civil society, business-private sector and the constituents, establishing a scenario of the situation

in the city or community. The level and the nature of public participation in local governance issues are often used

as indicators of a healthy local political culture.

Political will is one of the most important factor, but without a clear commitment from the part of the local

government to empower themselves and the communities, establishing, deepening democratic spaces and

participatory deliberation are important. Discussion between constituents and local government officials should be

based at the core of participatory governance elaborating a set of creative and participative strategies and indicators

for promoting more productive and effective negotiations. Effective, efficient and successful public consultation

through empowerment are also important key features to good local participatory governance. Local mechanisms

should be designed to help the people in the city acquire knowledge and wise decisions about the allocation of local

resources, be vigilant in public spending and accountability of all stakeholders in the community. Local services

such as education, health care, water and sanitation and public transport are necessary for the people to survive

providing effective approaches for the members of the– leading to improved services and better quality of life for

all citizens. Effective participatory governance needs a well-informed and empowered civil society where there is

active community involvement in policy making, a responsive-transparent state, and inclusive to all legitimate local

entities. Improving relationships between citizens and their government means working together on government’s

ability to effectively respond with citizen empowerment, and the accountability of elected officials and council

members. The local government alone cannot just easily solve community problems without encouraging peoples

participation. A real and true participatory governance must deepen peoples voices, provide effective consultation

systems which promote inclusivity common interest of all its members of the community.

The modern framework of participatory governance should be about local participatory mechanisms,

consultation, vigilance, transparency, involvement and empowerment. During early years, local government were

managed by officials that made decisions based on technical knowledge and vested-interests, today new local

participatory governance mechanisms and demands are encouraging government agencies to expand public

consultations, implement participatory governance practices at the local level, encourage popular participation and

develop new partnerships with the civil society organizations. This requires an overhauling of professionalization

and nurturing values of all stakeholders .Governance is not only for local leaders and officials. Government actors

need to open up for more transparent and responsive decision-making. Without transparency, citizen participation is

poorly informed and less effective. Without accountability, those in positions of power can safely ignore the will of

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the people. By demanding responsiveness to social and economic needs, organized civic activity can have a real and

tangible impact on local government performance and the quality and responsiveness of public services.

A local group public gathering can be a beneficial measure to discuss transparency strategies in urban city

governance. The approach involves channeling discussions through encouragement participants to discuss

alternative views to specific issues and to exchange ideas on, and experiences with, local government officials. The

most important feature of barangay study group is the participation of varieties of individuals, representing different

educational and professional backgrounds. Barangay advisers – Generally organized around specific issues, such as

peace and order and housing, citizen advisory council can be another development project for effective public

participation. Comprised of community volunteer residents, such group will provide local authorities with

information and recommendations pertaining to local issues. Citizens get an opportunity to play a meaningful role

within the government structure, through establishment of a working relationship with government employees and

officials. Considering the level of independence with which they can serve as a useful safeguard against corruption

and help in establishing transparent decision-making practices.

Barangay community meetings

These events could be fundamental to the operation of transparent, democratic government management.

Efficient local officials discuss on rules and other local matters, barangay group meetings afford citizens an

opportunity to address local officials on important local issues, particularly budget , peace and order, health and

education concerns. In the same manner, it will also provide public officials to request comments and information

and access expert advice from the public.

Establishing sustainable and committed partnerships, addressing problems requires the collaboration and

consultation of different levels of government. Some of the current local problems faced by local governments in the

Philippines require the consultation of both the public and private sectors and, increasingly, civil society. Often these

groups have different and, in some cases, even competing interests and values. Consequently, it is essential that

efforts be made by each of the participating parties to understand the needs of the other participants. Sometimes this

happens, sometimes it doesn’t. Whatever happens, meaningful consultation and effective local community

involvement requires a degree of patience, commitment, political will, understanding and hard work.

City Vigilance MonitoringGroup

They can be grassroots associations, whose key role is to monitor movements of local actors, civic

education and dissemination of information pertaining to government initiatives. These groups have no formal

relationship with government entities. City/ Barangay vigilance group which can assist members of the community

to publicly express their concerns could be a salient feature of participatory governance, tool for enhancing citizen

proactive voice, advocacy and community negotiation. The principal actors in implementing local community

involvement is the local government, although community involvement can work itself in many ways, local as well

as national governments must take a proactive role in ensuring that opportunities for public involvement exist. The

decision to include citizens in contract committees, for instance, rests with the government. The success and

effectiveness of public hearings, citizens’ groups and other such tools also depends in large measure on the

commitment of local government to participatory governance, accountability, transparency , empowerment and

community involvement.

References

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18

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Peoples Organization in the Philippines Enrique Pastor Seller on his impact, effectiveness and sustainability of

social policies and local democracy through the social involvement.

Brillantes, A. (2000). Enhancing Participation in Local Governance: Experience from the Philippines. (IIRR, LGSP,

SANREM CRSP/Southeast Asia..

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Philippines Strengthening Local Government Financing & Resource Management in the Short Term

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Neighborhood Renewal and Local Governance, Institute of Development Studies.

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Development Studies.

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Executives in Australian Local Government.

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Soon Hee, K. (2012). Citizen Participation and Transparency in Local Government: An Empirical Analysis.

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Tools to Support transparency in Local Governance,

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Development: a case study of Sri Lanka

(Figure I)

Conceptual Framework

20

TRVVVANSFORMATION

INPUT TRANSFORMATIONPROCESS

OUTPUT

hjg

Figure I

(Figure

(Figure II)

1. A. PARTICIPATORY PROJECTS DEVELOPED 2010-2013

AverageRank

SD ItemAverage

RankSD Item

12.67 1.75

Education2.85 1.58

Peace and order,Education,Housing, Calamity

22.89 1.75

Education2.89 2.26

Peace and order, Housing

33.34 1.89

Education2.23 1.41 Peace and order, Housing and

Education4

2.26 1.20Education

1.67 0.58Education, Health, Peace and oder

NGO/Citizens (N=727) LGU (N=39)

Quezon City

Marikina

San Juan

Valenzuela

(Figure III)

ROLE OF NGOs

AverageRank

SD itemAverage

RankSD item

1 4.63 3.12FacilitatingSeminars/Communication

4.77 3.31Development and Operation ofInfrastructure

2 4.76 2.86Advocacy for and withthe poor

3.78 1.72FacilitatingSeminars/Communication

3 4.32 3.01Advocacy for and withthe poor 5.04 3.55

Promoting transparency,accountability and publicparticipation

4 4.71 3.71Development andOperation ofInfrastructure

2.00 1.00Advocacy for and with the poor

NGO/Citizens (N=748) LGU (N=23)

Quezon City

Marikina

San Juan

Valenzuela

(Figure IV)

21

CityGOVERNMENT

(LGU)

Constituents(Re-gistered voters)

Civil society(NGOs/,

Businesssector)

ParticipatoryGovernance

1.Participatorymechanisms

2.Accountabilitywith directinvolvement/

3.Consultation

4.Transparencywith vigilance

5.Empower,educatethe community

Quezon City

San Juan

Marikina

Valenzuela

Factors that contributed to the success or failure of building participatory governance; possible reasons for success

AverageRank

SD InterpretationAverage

RankSD Interpretation

12.62 1.33

Interested topics, Objectivesand purposes

3.11 3.03Timing

22.56 1.59

Interested topics, Objectivesand purposes

2.33 1.32Budget/financial concern

32.77 2.00

Interested topics, Objectivesand purposes

3.09 1.81Choice of participants

42.34 1.58

Interested topics, Objectivesand purposes

1.50 0.71Level of trust and benefitsValenzuela

NGO/Citizens (N=748) LGU (N=23)

Quezon City

Marikina

San Juan

(Figure V)

(Figure VI)

22

LGUs addressed contributory factors to success/actions taken:

AverageRank

SD InterpretationAverage

RankSD Interpretation

12.92 1.64

Effective health, environmentand sanitation programs

2.86 2.80Effective local legislation andformulation of policies

22.89 1.65

Effective health, environmentand sanitation programs

2.44 1.69Effective local legislation andformulation of policies

32.12 1.71

Effective local legislation andformulation of policies

3.05 1.67Effective local legislation andformulation of policies

4

2.64 1.67

Effective local legislation andformulation of policies 0.0

Effective leadership, training,transparency, accountability andpolitical will of leaders inpromoting public interest

NGO/Citizens (N=748) LGU (N=23)

Valenzuela

Marikina

Quezon City

San Juan

23