UP offers crash course for barangay officials

MANILA, Phillipines - The University of the Philippines-National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG) is expecting an influx in the number of participants in its crash course program for barangay officials.

Remigio Ocenar, director of the UP-NCPAG Center for Local and Regional Governance (CLRG), told The STAR yesterday that they are expecting an increase in participants following the village polls held on Monday.

“We teach them how to plan, to budget, and even come up with projects to increase their revenue,” said Ocenar in Filipino.

The CLRG director said the program — which usually lasts for five days with eight hour sessions each — covers various components of barangay governance including powers and functions, planning, program management, and leadership.

He said the crash course also covers other aspects of governance in the barangay level such as budgeting, inter-governmental relations, and good governance.

He said they also invite professors from the UP speech department to teach the officials on how to address the public or deliver speeches in formal gatherings.

Unique form of government

Ocenar said the crash course for barangay officials is designed to cover all components of what he described as a unique form of government.

For instance, he noted that the captain is both the head of the executive and the presiding officer of the sangguniang barangay, which is the legislative aspect of the village government.

He added that barangays have its own justice system to resolve petty issues involving residents.

The CLRG director said the crash course, in addition to those mentioned above, also includes a module on legislation to help the officials formulate relevant measures needed in their respective constituencies.

He said they also invite lawyers to handle the module on the barangay justice system.

Frontline

Ocenar said it is important for barangay officials to know their role and responsibilities as they are considered the “frontline” in terms of governance.

“Their projects are the ones that directly affect the people,” he said, noting responsibilities such as garbage collection and administration of barangay health centers and day care centers.

He said the Department of Interior and Local Government conducts trainings for newly-elected officials, but sometimes these are not enough to cover all aspects of governance.

“There are institutions like Ateneo and (the CLRG) that offer longer and more comprehensive courses,” he said.

Ocenar said that they are regularly conducting programs for barangay officials in Quezon City, with next one scheduled either in December or early 2014.

Instead of a five-day program, he said the crash course for QC officials was designed to run for around five weeks as sessions are only held for three hours, three times a week.

“Sometimes, barangay officials in other local government units in Metro Manila also join in the program,” he said.

The cost of the crash course program for barangay officials is pegged at around P10,000 per participant, inclusive of lunch, snacks, and training materials.

He noted, however, that the amount may vary depending on the capacity of the local government units to shoulder the costs of the training. He added that the content of the program may be customized depending on the needs of the participants.