MIGEDC buckles down to work
Mayor Jerry Treñas, chairperson of the Metro
Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council
(MIGEDC), stresses cooperation as he keynotes the
strategic mapping workshop for MIGEDC dubbed
"Better Choices, Brighter Future" held on 14-15
November 2006 at the Iloilo Grand Hotel.
The Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC) has taken its first step in fulfilling its mandate of improving the quality of life of its constituents amid emerging problems brought about by rapid urbanization and the spatial development challenges of tourism and economic development.
Created by President Gloria Arroyo on August 28 under Executive Order No. 559 to expand the scope of the Metro Iloilo Development Council (MIDC), MIGEDC is formulating its strategic map in a two-day workshop that started November 14 at the Iloilo Grand Hotel.
"The net effect of this (workshop) is a MIGEDC prepared to succeed and poised to surprise," says Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, MIGEDC chairperson as he keynotes the workshop organized under the auspices of the Local Governance Development Program (LGDP) Phase 1.
"Considering the uncertainty of the times, it would be wise if we share ideas, experiences, wisdom and growth perspective. Doing so would definitely augur well for the MIGEDC and its visions" adds Treñas. "Knowing one’s working partner well could translate into a more vibrant and coordinated approach to the challenges that confront the MIGEDC."
Apart from the original members of the MIDC which are Iloilo City and its four neighbors, the municipalities of Leganes, Oton, Pavia and San Miguel, MIGEDC now includes the province of Guimaras and the town of Santa Barbara where a new airport in Iloilo will rise.
Prior to its expansion, the five-year old MIDC was a leading model in inter-local government cooperation in the Philippines.
Treñas stresses: "As MIGEDC chairman, it makes me realize that the pursuit of our goals can be fulfilling and satisfying knowing that a lot of teamwork is involved. A lot of conscious participation is oozing as a result of a closer team approach to issues and concerns. And this is certainly what I hope this strategic mapping workshop will achieve."
Participants in the workshop were introduced to a strategic management system based on the balanced scorecard and Local Governance Performance Management System (LGMPS) that can lead to improved results, processes, and culture change in building and sustaining the partnerships.
The workshop also seeks to develop realistic strategies, prioritize plans and programs and formulate policies and procedures for MIGEDC to get these plans and programs funded and implemented, explains Francis Gentoral, LGDP partnership adviser.
MIGEDC is one of the two designated Local Area Development Partnerships (LADPs) in the country, the other one being Bohol. As such, these two areas are receiving technical assistance under the LGDP, an initiative of the Australian Government through the Australian Aid for International Development.
LGDP has been designed as a phased long-term program that will run for up to 10 years. Phase 1 will run for 13 months and is a learning and development phase.
MIGEDC and Bohol were chosen because they present an opportunity to investigate formal and informal LAPD structures, local and national donor coordination processes, and the implementation of packages of assistance at the local level using a decentralized approach.
LGDP is implemented by Coffey International Development, an Australian development specialist group, in association with the Canadian Urban Institute, a Toronto-based non-government organization that has been working in partnership with Metropolitan Iloilo.