MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / May 23, 2014) – The Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic Development or LGSP-LED is set to hold a leader’s forum in Pasig City to facilitate conversation among leaders from government, the private sector and other stakeholders in an effort to reignite interest and provide impetus to move towards more inclusive growth strategies for Philippine communities.
The forum entitled “Growing Local Economies” will be held on May 27 at the Marco Polo Hotel in Ortigas Center.
Organizers said Naga City Mayor John Bongat and South Cotabato Governor Daisy Fuentes are expected to attend the forum and share their success stories and lessons learned from their LED projects. Local champions will be recognized for their dedication to local economic development particularly in innovations in tourism and agribusiness development during the forum.
Through LGSP-LED, the Department of the Interior and Local Government is providing technical advice and trainings for selected local governments to engage the local private sector in developing more competitive local tourism industries and creating tourism circuits that are attractive to investments and conducive to job creation.
Since 2009, the program has completed local economic development initiatives in 9 project sites across the Philippines that aim to attract investments, increase tourism arrivals, and create jobs for communities in Pangasinan, Metro Naga, Iloilo, Leyte, Bohol, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Zamboanga del Norte.
From 2011 to 2013, LGSP-LED LGUs attracted almost P6 billion in investments and created over 2200 new jobs for their localities.
The highlight of the launching of LGSP-LED’s next wave of program interventions are all focused on tourism development.
Canadian Ambassador Neil Reeder, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, together with Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, and key partners in LED and tourism from the private sector, international donor agencies, and other national government agencies are expected to grace the occasion and officially signal the start of new LGSP-LED projects in the provinces of Albay, Aklan, Antique, Cebu, Davao Del Norte, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Province of Negros Oriental, Province of Palawan, Siquijor, and Sorsogon.
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