Recognizing that the proposed big shift from a unitary presidential to a federal form of government is no easy task, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is leading a sure-fire campaign to ensure maximum awareness and understanding of the benefits and advantages of federalism.
The campaign, dubbed as “One Nation, One Government: Transition to Federalism Project”, aims to increase public awareness on federalism.
DILG Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Catalino S. Cuy says the campaign shall involve civil society organizations (CSOs) duly accredited by the DILG as federalism advocacy partners and the implementation of federalism-related information campaign activities that should have “unified messages.”
“This is to ensure that all federalism-related information campaign initiatives of DILG operating units, regional and field offices, as well as local governance stakeholders, are implemented within the standards and parameters set by the DILG in terms of content, activities, and resource management,” says Cuy.
Such activities include, among others, orientation sessions, seminars, knowledge exchange sessions, focus group discussions, forums and symposia.
The DILG OIC discloses that funds for information campaign activities will be sub-allotted to the DILG regional offices based on approved work plans and budget compliant to auditing rules and regulations.
He says that the proposed work plans are to be submitted to DILG Assistant Secretary for Plans and Programs Epimaco V. Densing III through the Local Government Academy (LGA), an attached agency of the Department.
After being accredited, CSOs may partner with DILG regional or field offices for the conduct of federalism information campaign activities.
CSOs may then access the funds sub-allotted to the DILG regional offices through an agreement separate from the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed for their accreditation as federalism advocacy partner. The MOA will be valid until December 31, 2017 and will be subject for review and renewal in January 2018 and every six months thereafter.
Database of accredited CSOs and speakers
Densing says that the LGA and the DILG regional and provincial offices will upload names of organizations in the database of accredited federalism advocacy partners to be made accessible at the DILG and LGA websites.
The LGA, through a Project Management Office (PMO), will serve as the overall coordinator and spearhead all federalism-related activities of the DILG.
DILG regional offices are tasked to report to LGA their accomplishments on or before the fifth day of every month.
In addition, LGA, as the training arm of the DILG, will be responsible for training accredited advocacy partners’ resource persons on DILG’s key messages and content parameters for all federalism information campaign activities.
Resource persons who successfully complete the training shall be issued certificates and their names will be included in the national database of resource speakers on federalism for DILG’s Transition to Federalism Project.
“Accredited advocacy partners are required to tap only DILG-certified resource speakers for their information campaign activities,” says Densing.
Local government units (LGUs) may also conduct their own federalism information campaign activities in coordination with DILG field offices whose staff will guide LGUs on the key messages and content to be delivered to ensure that these are consistent with those set by the Department. | DILG
