PEOPLE EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM

     The People Empowerment Program (PEP) is a continuing initiative of the city government to promote political empowerment of its citizenry, building on the gains of the 1986 EDSA Revolution.

     As an evolving program, the PEP has successfully concretized, at the local level, the abstract concept of “people power” by empowering and continuously engaging the community in governance processes, leading to the development of a participative society in Naga.

     The PEP dates back to sometime in 1989, when the formerly adversarial relationship between the city government and the local non-government (NGO) sector turned a new leaf towards a cautious, critical collaboration.  The turning point came when confidence-building measures initiated by the administration of Mayor Jesse M. Robredo bore fruit.

     As a result of the consultations between the city government and the Community Organizers of the Philippines Enterprise (COPE), a constructive working partnership took place. This, then, developed to the establishment of the Naga City NGO-PO Council, a loose grouping that, among others, ensured the regular dialog with the Robredo administration.

     ln 1995, the city council enacted the landmark Empowerment Ordinance. This institutionalized and provided the legal basis for the program. The ordinance mandated the partnership between the local government and the non-government sectors in the city; and encouraged the federation of the NGOs and people's organizations (POs) into the Naga City People's Council (NCPC).

Objectives

    The People Empowerment Program consists of revolutionary initiatives towards good governance that seek to address:

• The need to empower the marginalized sectors of society, thus enabling them to participate more actively in governing the city

  Empowerment essentially involves organizing these sectors, and creating avenues for their meaningful participation in governance

• The need to be inclusive, that is to involve as many individuals, groups or sectors as possible in the decision-making and policy-setting processes of the city government

• The need to ensure sustainability and acceptability of local programs or undertakings, thus increasing the likelihood of long-term success .

  Sustainability and acceptability are predicated on generating broad-based support and stakeholdership for these initiatives

• The need to promote greater transparency and exact accountability in local governance. 

  Transparency can be attained through greater people participation and a policy of information openness in government affairs. Accountability involves making oneself answerable for actions and decisions made to the people.

• The need to harness skills and capacities of the local constituency, including individuals and organized groups

Implementation and Partnerships

     The PEP employs a system of multi-level consultation and partnership between the city government and the local NGO/PO community. This community is composed of 83 member NGOs/POs, the 27 Barangay People’s Councils and 11 organized basic sectors.  These organizations belong to an umbrella group, the Naga City People’s Council (NCPC).  In addition, there are also other local organized groups that do not belong to NCPC.  Collectively and individually, working with them is integral to the program’s success.

   Among others, the NCPC is empowered to:

• Appoint NGO representatives to local special bodies of the city government

• Observe, vote and participate in the deliberation, conceptualization, implementation and evaluation of projects, activities, and programs of the city government

• Designate representatives to all city council committees; and propose legislation, participate and vote at the committee level of the Sangguniang Panlungsod

• Act as the people's representatives in the exercise of their constituional rights to information on matters of public concern and access to official records and documents.

     At the outset, at a time the NGO/PO community needed it most, the Empowerment Ordinance allocated a P300,000 annual financial assistance for the 3 years from city funds. The money was earmarked for organizing efforts leading to the establishment of the NCPC, thereby ensuring that funding constraints will not hinder the right to self-organization of the NGO/PO community.

     This funding provision went beyond the 3-year period contemplated under the ordinance. From 1997-2001, a total of P1.5 million was given to NCPC, with the annual allocation doubled to P600,000 last year.

     From 1997-99, the program also benefited from technical assistance to the city government under the USAID-funded Governance and Local Democracy (GOLD) Project. Among the activities supported were the initial organization of Barangay People's Councils, through the NCPC, as well as the conduct of participative barangay planning and budgeting.

     The NCPC, in 2000, secured a P2.1M technical assistance from the Philippine-Australia Governance Facility (PAGF) for institutional development and strengthening of the 11 basic sectors in the city.

Innovative Features

     In conjunction with the Naga SPEED Program, the PEP has resulted in a participative society where a form of direct democracy works hand-in-hand with representative democracy, the first and perhaps only one of its kind in the Philippines.  Through the Naga City People’s Council (NCPC), non-government and people’s organizations (NGOs and POs) are now actively involved in governing the city.

    The marginalized sectors of society have been strengthened and organized, both at the city and barangay levels.

    The Empowerment Ordinance formalized and provided legal basis for the program, and laid down a functional framework for partnership between the city government and the NGO/PO community, thus creating an avenue for its meaningful participation in governance. 

      The NCPC, by giving premium to community organizing, has given marginalized sectors, for the first time, a voice and an avenue for meaningful participation in governing their city. The NCPC, by organizing a functional Barangay People’s Council, even if it was not provided for in the ordinance, has been able to bring down the people empowerment model down to the barangay. Over the last 2 years, the NCPC has focused on strengthening the 11 basic sectors of society. By focusing on strengthening the 11 basic sector of society over the last 2 years, the Council has been able to increase the number of NGOs and POs in Naga, from only a little over 40 when the first round of accreditation was conducted in 1996, to a total of 83 in 2001.

     Participation and inclusiveness in direction-setting, policy-making, as well as program and project implementation, monitoring and evaluation at the city level, has been widened.

     A positive change in perception and attitude of civil society towards the city government, and vice versa, was engendered. This particular change led to positive behavior towards each other.  There is now a heightened level of trust and confidence, openness to and acceptance of each other, and a more pronounced interaction between them.  Thus, the program did not merely bring ordinary people closer to their government, but systematically involved them in the processes of governance itself.

      As a result, the program harnessed the energies of civil society and transformed them into active partners in running the affairs of government—becoming not just mere spectators (or critics) but players who participate in various levels of planning, policy-making and implementation.