About Us

Description

The Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development (LGSP-LED) is an eight-year (2008-2016) collaborative Program of the Governments of Canada and the Philippines. Its goal is to foster efficient, responsive, transparent and accountable governance at all levels. Its purpose is to reduce poverty by strengthening local governance and supporting sustainable local economic development (LED).

Components and Outcome Areas

LGSP-LED works at both national and local levels (in a mutually supportive manner) to provide a better enabling environment for LGUs to pursue LED, while improving the prospects for LED in communities.

At the national level, the Program improves the enabling environment for decentralization and local governance in the Philippines, with a focus on how this environment supports LED. It is made up of one ‘immediate outcome area’, namely National Environment for LED, which is focused on increasing the capacity of DILG and participating national government agencies to harmonize policies and coordinate programs in support of sustainable LED.

At the local level, the Program helps select LGUs/Alliances develop and implement their LED approaches. It builds the capacity of LGUs/Alliances to develop innovative LED methods that can produce important job creation and economic results for women and men, and improve the governance environment to support economic development. The local component is comprised of another two ‘immediate outcome areas’, namely, LGU Environment for LED and LED Initiatives.

Approaches

The LGSP-LED approach draws heavily from the following inter-related interventions:

Partnership Building
LGSP-LED adopts a strong partnership orientation with an ethic of helping select LGUs/Alliances and DILG and their partners achieve excellence in their LED initiatives. The hallmark of the Program’s partnership approach puts a strong emphasis on creating trust and understanding between partners and taking time to get to know the partnership context to ensure locally appropriate interventions. This involves shared responsibility for Program implementation and results accountability with partners. An essential element to the partnership strategy is establishing strong and frequent lines of communication and the use of multi-sectoral team-based approaches in the LED process.

Capacity Development
Appropriate and effective measures to enhance the institutional competencies of DILG and LGUs/Alliances require better systems for improving the skills and capacities of its human resources. Key competencies that are essential for LED are in the areas of planning and policy formulation; program and project formulation and structuring; ensuring market-driven approaches; partnerships with the private sector; and management of service delivery. These are the key competencies that must be strengthened through capacity development programs. LGU capacities in LED are deficient in the key areas of competitiveness, economic and social planning, environmental management, and financial management. Structures to develop and sustain these capacities are also weak. National government agencies involved in LED training are not well coordinated, and incentives for LGUs are lacking to acquire needed skills.

LED Strategic Planning
This will ensure an integrated, process-oriented and non-prescriptive endeavor for DILG and LGUs/Alliances. The Program’s strategic planning approach embraces local values (e.g., poverty reduction, basic human needs, local jobs, integration of social and environmental values), utilizes economic drivers (e.g., value-added resources use, local skills training, retention of income, regional cooperation) and considers sustainable development (the role of the LED process and related structural change in bringing about quality of development). LGSP-LED adopts the participatory strategic planning approach as a systematic decision-making process that focuses the attention of multiple stakeholders on important LED issues and builds the partnerships needed to resolve them.

Knowledge Management
LGSP-LED recognizes the wealth of knowledge and information already generated by DILG, CIDA, other NGAs, other donor agencies, CSOs and the private sector for LED, good governance and poverty reduction. The Program uses and builds on this existing knowledge to advance LED and translate ideas into action. LGSP-LED builds a stronger body of knowledge resources on local governance and LED, and promotes, uses and applies these resources in/among LGUs/Alliances. The approach will also upscale lessons learned from local-level work to inform policy development, and contribute to the development and dissemination of knowledge products across the country and region.

Cross-Cutting Themes

LGSP-LED integrates and mainstreams three cross-cutting themes (CCTs): gender equality, environmental sustainability and poverty reduction into its planning, implementation, monitoring and management processes

Gender Equality
LGSP-LED supports the promotion of women’s economic empowerment and strengthening of gender-responsive governance. In the area of economic development, weak access of women to adequate credit resources and invisibility of women rural producers continue to be critical issues. Other persistent concerns are the lack of social protection for workers and overcrowding in a narrow band of enterprises since women prefer to work close to home due to domestic and care-giving responsibilities. In the area of governance, LGSP-LED will respond to the need for more equitable representation of women particularly in decision-making processes and the inadequate capacity for GAD mainstreaming.

Environmental Sustainability
LGSP-LED adheres to the principles of restorative, sustainable and equitable local economic development. It will adopt an approach to environmental sustainability from two angles: 1) Do No Harm – reducing the risk of negative environmental effects of LED, and 2) Do Good – identifying and acting on the potential for environmentally progressive and restorative LED opportunities. LGSP-LED also encourages the adoption of green LED strategies, including climate change adaptation and mitigation measures as appropriate.

Poverty Reduction
LGUs are well positioned to tackle poverty by stimulating local economic development through the creation of livelihood opportunities, delivery of basic local services, and in the promotion a democratic process that gives a voice to the poor. LGSP-LED supports LED activities that will contribute to making health, education, social services, credit, finance, entrepreneurship training and other livelihood assets more accessible to socio-economically disadvantaged households.

Implementation Periods

The Program is organized into implementation periods characterized by the 1) number of years in keeping with the term of office of elected officials, 2) emphasis of Program support for both components of the Program and 3) the increasing role of DILG.

The groups of selected LGUs/Alliances are referred to as “batches” that are linked to their period of involvement in the Program and the kind of support to be provided them.

  • The first period covers the start-up years: 2008 to 2011. At the national level, the focus of the work has been in studying current LED policies and programs and in the development, elaboration and validation of a national LED Framework. At the local level, this covered the first batch of LGU Alliances, considered advanced and ready for LED with whom the Program tested the Framework and the Local Economic Transformation Teams (LETTs), as well as concentrated its assistance on entrepreneurial leadership development and entrepreneurial systems improvement. The DILG role in this period in relation to the LED Framework can be described as initiator of the framework, leading in its testing and elaboration at both the national and local levels. A second batch of advanced and “ready-for-LED” LGUs was also selected during this period and are engaged to further validate the framework through a larger base of LGUs/Alliances to work with.
  • The second period covers the years 2011 to 2013. At the national level, the focus of Program assistance will be on LED Framework application and enhancement. At the local level, the Program is moving up the pace of work with Batch 2 LGUs/Alliances to prioritize their LED initiatives, and provide assistance in systems improvement and in accessing NGA support through the LETT convergence efforts. Batch 1 may still be assisted but in a more calibrated manner as appropriate, possibly in finalizing their access to LED investment support and financing. The DILG role in this second period is one of convenor of the national and local collaboration effort to support LED, and leading the application and enhancement of the framework at all levels.
  • The third period covers the final three years 2013 to 2016. At the national level, the Program will facilitate the full dissemination and mainstreaming of the LED Framework and its inter-agency coordination and convergence mechanisms. In the local component, a more calibrated level of assistance will be provided to the second batch of LGUs and after the local elections in 2013, a possible third batch of LGUs/Alliances may be selected with DILG taking the full lead in this process, using mostly their resources, remaining Program resources and harnessing other funds sources as well. This period is seen as the stage where DILG would be replicating the results of the Program and is cementing the sustainability of new interventions and convergence mechanisms.

Program Partners

LGSP-LED is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and implemented in partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) (www.canurb.com) and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) (www.accc.ca).

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is the executive department of the Philippine Government responsible for promoting peace and order, ensuring public safety, and strengthening the capabilities of local government units. It is also responsible for the Philippine National Police.

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is Canada’s lead agency for development assistance. It has a mandate to support sustainable development in developing countries in order to reduce poverty and to contribute to a more secure, equitable, and prosperous world.

The Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) is the national, voluntary membership organization created in 1972 to represent colleges and institutes to government, business and industry, both in Canada and internationally.

The Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing solutions to important issues that have an impact on the quality of life in urban areas and communicating those solutions to a wide audience through a variety of media.

Program Staff

Marion Maceda-Villanueva
Field Director
mvillanueva@lgsp-led.ph

Francis Gentoral
Associate Field Director
fgentoral@lgsp-led.ph

Evelyn C. Jiz
Program Manager, National Enabling Environment
ejiz@lgsp-led.ph

Randi A. Alampay
Program Manager, LED and Local Governance
ralampay@lgsp-led.ph

Becky T. Ongtangco
Finance Manager
rongtangco@lgsp-led.ph

Catherine D. Racho
Program Officer
cracho@lgsp-led.ph

Jean Roxas
Local Initiatives Coordinator
jroxas@lgsp-led.ph

Sef Alba Carandang
Communication Specialist
scarandang@lgsp-led.ph

Mercy G. Joveres
Finance Officer
mjoveres@lgsp-led.ph

Tina Abella
Program Coordinator
kabella@lgsp-led.ph

Arlene Tugublimas
Finance and Administrative Assistant
atugublimas@lgsp-led.ph

Pedrosino Catubig
Office Assistant/Driver
pcatubig@lgsp-led.ph

Renaldo Ramos
Driver
rramos@lgsp-led.ph

Program Advisers

Sylvia Bagadion-Engracia
Gender Equality Adviser
sbagadion@yahoo.com

Noela C. Lasmarias
Environment Adviser
nlasmarias@gmail.com

Milo Casals
Poverty Reduction Adviser
milocasals@yahoo.com

Lito Pardo
Municipal Finance Adviser
lito.pardo@gmail.com

 

LED Partnership Advisers and Training Coordinators

Ma. Rosalinda Lacasamana
LED Partnership Adviser, Region 1 (OPAL)
rlacsamana@lgsp-led.ph

Nicolas Breda Priela
LED Partnership Adviser, Region V (MNDC)
bpriela@lgsp-led.ph

Rodelin Malones
LED Partnership Adviser, Region VI (Guimaras)
rmalones@lgsp-led.ph

Mardi Suplido
LED Partnership Adviser, Region VI (MIGEDC)
msuplido@lgsp-led.ph

Trell Moya
LED Partnership Adviser, Region VII (PaDaYon)
Temporary: trellmoya@yahoo.com

Greg Sarmiento
LED Partnership Adviser, Region VIII (Leyte)
gsarmiento@lgsp-led.ph

Alfred Allaga
LED Partnership Adviser, Region XII (AVLDA)
aallaga@lgsp-led.ph

Myra Toledo
Training Coordinator, Region XII (Northern Samar)
mtoledo@lgsp-led.ph

DILG LED Focal Persons

View directory here.

Program Steering Committee

A Program Steering Committee (PSC), co-chaired by DILG and CIDA, oversees and provide strategic direction and policy guidance to the Program.

PSC Co-Chairs:

  • Austere Panadero, Undersecretary for Local Government, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)
  • Luke Myers, Country Program Manager, Philippines & South Pacific, Asia Branch, Canadian International Development Agency

 

The PSC is supported by a Project Coordination Committee (PCC) and a Project Advisory Board (PAB), which convene as required by the PSC. The composition of the PCC and PAB will evolve over the life of the Program, based on the Program’s needs and priorities.

 

PCC Members:

  • Rolando Tungpalan, Deputy Director-General, Office of the Deputy Director-General for Investment Programming, National Economic Development Authority (NEDA)
  • Carmencita Delantar, Director IV, Department of Budget and Management (DBM)
  • Gil Beltran, Undersecretary, Department of Finance (DOF) (Alternate: Ma. Presentacion Montesa, Executive Director, BLGF)
  • Zenaida Maglaya, Undersecretary, Consumer Welfare, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
  • Merly Cruz, Undersecretary, Regional Operations, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)

 

PAB Members:

  • Alex Raoul Villano, Assistant Secretary General, League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP)
  • Crisanto Frianeza, Secretary General/Ryan Evangelista, Deputy Director General, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI)

 

About the LED Logo

The LED logo was developed to establish the Program’s unique identity to clients and partners in local governance, both locally and globally. It was designed with a view to enable DILG to use the logo well beyond the life of LGSP-LED.

Elements of the LED logo:

Symbol

  • Stylized “play button” which symbolizes moving forward, progress and innovation
  • Button is also a boat sail symbolic of bayanihan (the spirit of communal unity or effort to achieve a particular objective for the common good)
  • Interfacing triangles on the button/sail convey the principles of partnership and collaboration

Program Branding

  • Use of “LED” as program branding places emphasis on economic transformation