GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The provincial government of South Cotabato is planning to replicate this year its flagship transparency and integrity program at the barangay level.
Romar Olivares, provincial information officer, said Tuesday they are currently working with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for the launch of anti-corruption information and education activities in its 199 barangays.
Olivares said the initiative will focus on the strengthening of local civil society and concerned groups “in guarding the government against corruption at the barangay level.”
The campaign would be tied up with the DILG’s Barangay Advocacy Prevention on Corruption, which is focused on reducing corruption through information and education, as well as engagements with community organizations, he said.
Olivares said it will be coordinated by the advocacy team of the provincial government’s Integrity Program.
As part of the move, he said they will enlist volunteers in the barangays “to join the local government in preserving integrity in governance in all levels.”
“The barangay people are the best persons to guard government-led projects from corruption because they know their communities and leaders,” he said.
The official acknowledged that only a few active community and civil society groups could be tapped for the campaign.
He, however, said the provincial government and the DILG will merge their resources to organize and eventually mobilize community groups.
Olivares said local groups would be properly educated and trained on their roles, as well as entry points, where they can participate in the prevention of corruption, and in promoting and sustaining barangay good governance.
“The campaign will provide deeper understanding and knowledge about good governance, anti-corruption legal measures and institutional mechanisms,” he said.
The Integrity Program was an offshoot of the rollout in the province in 2014 of the European Union (EU)-supported Partnership for Integrity and Jobs Project or Project I4J.
Its implementer, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), chose South Cotabato as among the eight pilot areas in the country.
Co-funded by the EU and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development through KAS, Project I4J focuses on the development of integrity mechanisms and business promotion procedures in all its pilot areas through the help of the private and business sectors.
