Public consultation and ELA

Churchill Aguilar

LET me congratulate the winners in the recently concluded 2016 elections. Most of those I rooted for in the local scene have secured a seat in our LGU while some did not make it. Amid all allegations of vote buying and voters’ manipulation, at the end of it all the people have chosen and all the winners deserve the utmost respect from everyone, after all the legitimacy of their newly acquired powers emanated from the people who installed them, whether we like them or not.

That said, I have very high hopes with the new set of leaders that will now occupy the province and the city. Unlike the previous set, it is less likely for the new winners to be toxic leaders them being new and still with full fire to create legacies of their own. If there is one thing that this election showed, it’s the fact that people know who are really working for their welfare.

But if the newly elected officials get poorly managed and are not given the direction of development we wish to achieve in the city, then I am pretty certain that it will surely result to business as usual. Before we know it, they will end up to be the new trapos in no time.

The first step to a more vibrant city right after election would be the multi-stakeholders consultation. Yes, the mayor has his agenda already that was even probably the reason why he won, but it would not hurt to ask our community what we wish would get prioritized. Or if the mayor’s agenda has been well thought off already by his capable consultants and department heads, then the multi-stakeholders consultation would be a great venue to sell such agenda and recruit for buy-ins and support from the community. This process cannot be skipped if he wants the people to own his plans and share with him the responsibility of making them realized. Only then can a collective vision be articulated and cemented.

When the city vision becomes clear to all, the next step is to conduct an honest to goodness Executive and Legislative Agenda (ELA), and not just the copy-pasting of DILG kept data of previous ELAs or the monopoly of the brilliant plan of a consultant or a department head. Perhaps one reason why the mayor failed to get the support of the city council from the previous  term aside from the political tug-of-war  that existed then was that he was not able to let the city council play an active part of the planning of programs, projects and activities through the ELA.

A well-facilitated ELA can make or unmake the city. It is the perfect venue to decide priorities and strategize what actions to take. This is also the perfect lubricant for a well-oiled and functional legislative department. ELA gives them direction on what ordinances to make and how to budget our money. ELA can clearly establish strong partnership between the executive and the legislative departments.

But sometimes, facilitating the ELA can be tricky too. The right questions have to be raised and have to be answered. A biased one will just end up to be putting icing on a pre-made plan. The MLGOOs of the DILG should be helped by a consultant and a seasoned facilitator that can best bring the best out of this process. I for one would be willing to help them with their ELA on a pro bono case should they want to really work as a team. That is the least I can do to be part of the change I so long for in our community.

This goes to all LGUs as well. Invest time and effort with your multi-stakeholders consultation as well as the Executive and Legislative Agenda.

As the late Jess Robredo once said, it is not enough to just have an output, the process output is equally important.