THE DEPARTMENT of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Tuesday stressed the programs and activities that need the unity and participation of the citizens.
DILG Assistant Secretary Roosque Calacat is one of the government’s senior officials present at “Dagyaw 2019”, a mechanism for citizen engagement in government programs, held at Iloilo Convention Center in this city.
In his speech, Calacat said the Participatory Governance Cluster ensures that the people at the grassroots are included in shaping the government’s agenda.
The unity and participation of the local government units and its citizens are needed in the implementation of good governance, peace and order, and public safety thrusts of the government.
“We saw the organizational and mobilizations of an institution, such as the peace and order council, the anti-drug abuse council, and even the people’s law enforcement council, are crucial in our desire in bringing peace and order to our communities,” Calacat said.
He noted that there is already a “downtrend in the drug-related cases in the previous year” and thus call for the barangays to strengthen the anti-drug abuse council.
The support of local government units is also needed in the implementation of the Balay Silangan program and the DILG’s community-based drug rehabilitation to provide hope to drug victims.
He further emphasized that the participation of citizens is also needed in addressing concerns against criminality and terrorism.
“Another important mission where we call the citizens for all-out support and participation is in the prevention of terrorism and criminality,” he said.
Calacat said the government is “dead serious in battling the biggest peace spoiler of the country, the communist insurgency problem.”
He noted that part of the effort in ending the local communist armed conflict is identifying and bringing services of the government to the grassroots to areas in which the programs are needed.
“The President agreed that the best solution to the five-decade insurgency problem does not end in military efforts alone. It requires collective action where good governance must be at its forefront,” he said.
Guided by the Local Government Code, Calacat said the barangays are designated as the “primary planning and implementing units” where the views of the people are “expressed, crystallized, and considered.”
“Hence, we will push to bring government reforms to the barangay level for programs projects activities that elevate human and social-economic provisions in the community through the Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP),” he said.
Originally developed by the Philippine Army, the RCSP is a convergence mechanism of the local government unit and the communities to identify needed government projects in a certain area.
“Kailangan namin ng inyong buong-pusong pakikilahok (We need your whole-hearted participation),” Calacat said.
Furthermore, as man-made and natural disasters like earthquakes arise, Calacat also encouraged local government units to become proactive and be disaster-ready.
“Although we cannot prevent earthquakes from happening, we can give citizens a lot higher percentage of survival and protection,” he said.
The DILG assistant secretary also enjoined all those present in the gathering to “double or triple” the participation of the government “as we reach halfway of President Duterte’s term.”
He also assured that the DILG is open to hear and accept suggestions to forward the country’s development.(By Gail Momblan)
20
