Iloilo City aims for ISA’s institutionalized citation
Iloilo City will present on August 26 its breakthrough achievements since it has embarked on Public Governance System (PGS) in 2005 before the Institute for Solidarity in Asia (ISA).
The City aims to become “Institutionalized,” the highest status given by ISA to participating local government unit relative to the level of developments in its governance program.
ISA is a non-government organization helping institutions set directions to achieve their visions and advocating balanced scorecard as basis for measuring performances.
An ISA Solidarity Mission was in town July 30-31 to validate the City’s reported significant achievements for all the efforts undertaken through PGS as a way of governance.
Mayor Jerry Trenas has reorganized and reconvened the Multi-Sector Coalition of Iloilo City (MuSCIC), which in several sessions, had gathered facts, classified data, and put together documents supporting the claim for recognition as an Institutionalized City.
ISA is about to elevate the City in the “institutional” level of the governance pathway even as the Solidarity Mission observed two landmark accomplishments during their assessment and validation process.
Based on the prepared measures profile, the first noted breakthrough is the significant increase in revenue collections which enabled the City to turn the budget deficit to surplus in recent years. This 2009, the projected revenue exceeds the billion mark–making Iloilo City one of the few cities outside Metro Manila in the billionaire’s row.
The second breakthrough is the prevalent public-private partnership (PPP) in almost all government undertakings where the private sectors are involved. A number of foundations, civic organizations, and task forces have been noted to have actively supported and participated in festivals, environment projects, health programs, housing and resettlement concerns, utilities distribution, ordinance compliance, among others. In fact, it’s the PPP that serves as the success factor of these undertakings.
The PPP has been made possible under Trenas’ leadership who has established a good relation with the private sector.
The partnership is said to be sustained through transparent deals and fair arrangements which is what collaborations with the city government have been all about. This is usually the case when the terms of reference are clearly discussed and expectations are brought out in the open.
The City approaches the finish line of the governance pathway as it bid for institutionalization and based on its performance evaluation, it is now ripe for endorsement to the Palladium Hall of Fame which is the penultimate achievement as a frontrunner of good governance. (PIO)