DILG-7 trains local planners

CEBU - The regional office of the Department of Internal and Local Government is now halfway in the training of the technical people at the local government level including the DILG’s front liners in the field.

The training is in preparation of the Comprehensive Development Plan in line with DILG’s efforts to create a Rationalized Planning System throughout the country in pursuant to the Joint Memorandum Circular No. 001 issued last year.

JMC 001 mandates the harmonization of local planning, investment programming, revenue administration, budgeting, and expenditure management.

Participants to the workshops include local development planning coordinators and the department’s field officers from all the 136 LGUs in the region.

Trainers from the regional offices of the DILG, National Economic and Development Authority, Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, together with specialists from DILG Central Office have been going around the region to conduct training activities in the different provinces.

The DILG-7 said trainings are done in two batches for each province considering the bulk of trainees and also to optimize the absorptive capacity of the participants.

The province of Siquijor and Negros Oriental had their training last October 7 to 9 and 13 to 15, respectively, wherein Siquijor participants joined the first batch in Negros Oriental.

Separate batches are still set for Bohol and Cebu subsequent to the training for the first batch in Bohol from October 29 to 31.

DILG-7 said the project works to trim down the number of plans required of the LGUs into two major comprehensive plans, which is the CDP and the Comprehensive Land Use Plan with the integration of sectoral concerns of certain non-government agencies.

CLUP is the plan for the management of local territory while CDP is used by the LGU to promote the general welfare of its inhabitants in its capacity as a corporate body.

“The CLUP is like the floor plan of the house; the CDP furnishes the house,” DILG 7 said.

DILG is mainly responsible for extending oversight functions over the LGUs and is highly concerned with providing technical assistance on the core LGU operations such as the planning, fiscal management and overall excellence in local governance.

In line with the task, DILG 7 has formulated RPS Sourcebook and the CDP Guide for cities and municipalities in accordance with the RPS framework.

“Setting up the rationalized local planning system in the Philippines entails the critical role of the DILG, especially the local government operations officers who are the deliverers of the program. On the receiver end, LGU’s need the capability building to be able to carry out local planning processes,” DILG 7 said. — Jessica Ann R. Pareja/WAB (THE FREEMAN)