DTI Multi-sectoral training for competitiveness, achievement motivation set

By Rizalie Anding Calibo

SIQUIJOR, May 31 (PIA)---The local office of the Department  of Trade and Industry here has schedule a multi-sectoral and achievement motivation training on June 6-10, 2011 in Siquijor province.

The training, DTI Provincial Director Nimfa Virtucio said, is an annual undertaking of the DTI-Center for Industrial Competitiveness (CIC) held in identified regions with an end view of promoting quality and productivity improvement programs to both public and private sector organizations.

The training aims to promote quality and productivity improvement program that are essential to the well-being of our nation’s economy and our ability to compete effectively in the global marketplace.

It is a two-day training program which aims to pursue organizational level competitiveness thru strengthening the achievement motives and entrepreneurial values of our SMEs by upgrading their capabilities thru quality and productivity program with values enhancement.

Target participants are SMEs, particularly OTOP beneficiaries, the DTI said. (RACalibo/PIA-Siquijor)

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AFOS shows interest to assist Siquijor tourism

SIQUIJOR, May 30 (PIA)---The AFOS Foundation for EntrepreneurialCooperation, a German Foundation is interested to assist the tourism industry of Siquijor province, says Provincial Director Mario E. dela Peña of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) here.

This is in connection with its desire to expand their services in the Visayas and Caraga regions. This year, de la Peña said, the group has started collaborating with the local government units of Bohol andNegros Oriental for assistance in tourism and food sector. For Siquijor province, he said AFOS wants  to work on tourism. 

He said the group, together with DOST-7 Regional Director Engr. Rene Burt Llanto and some of his personnel, has met with the Provincial Tourism Council and initially discussed possible collaborative efforts with regards to tourism related activities in the island.

Action plans have not been finalized as of yet but the group, during its visit to Siquijor made an assessment in some of the island’s potential tourist spots. (RACalibo/PIA-SIquijor)

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Siquijor mayors join covenant signing on full disclosure policy

SIQUIJOR, May 30 (PIA))--- Three municipal mayors along with a few employees of the local government unit of the province of Siquijor joined the signing of a covenant recently to implement the government’s policy on full disclosure, said a report from the province of Siqujor earlier. 

The report said over a hundred city and municipal mayors and governors in Region 7 were present but only Mayors Richard Quezon of Siquijor, Edwin Quimno of San Juan and Melojean Orquillas of Enrique Villanueva along with a few LGU employees in the province were among those who attended to pledge to make their financial transactions, including bids and public offerings public through the signing of the covenant on May 24, 2011 held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Cebu City.

Dubbed as the Tapatan Roadshow on Full Disclosure Policy, the activity was a dialogue on performance, accountability, responsiveness and transparency with no less than the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo as the keynote speaker.

Around 80 percent of the local chief executives in Central Visayas, civil society organizations, regional directors of different line agencies and other stakeholders attended the dialogue. 

Sec. Robredo said the full disclosure policy will ensure transparency and accountability of local officials. 

“Such policy will revolutionize governance as it will make people learn to trust the government. But before we can earn the trust of the people we should first come up with tangible measures, something that we termed the ‘seal of good housekeeping’” Robredo stressed. 

The DILG chief said a local government unit displays the “seal of good housekeeping” if it has a clean Commission on Audit (COA) report and if it conforms to the rules of full disclosure. 

Robredo stressed the importance of a clean audit report to be available to the public through website posting and media accessibility among others public venues. 

Under the full disclosure policy, he said, the local government will continue to keep the people informed of what it is doing. 

According to Robredo, people tend to show willingness to make sacrifices for the government if they saw that government officials keep them informed of the programs the government is undertaking and if they saw that government officials are spending public money prudently.

Under the Constitution, the Local Government Code and the General Appropriations Act of 2011, local government units (LGUs) are required to fully disclose their transactions, Robredo said. 

The DILG adopted the full disclosure policy in line withPresident Benigno Aquino 
III’s Reform Agenda, which includes removing graft and corruption in the government. 

Robredo said the 20 percent local development fund (LDF) is the “most abused fund.” The abuse prompted the DILG to issue a joint memorandum with the Department of Budget and Management on how to spend the fund. 

"It is our big challenge on how to translate the campaign slogan of President Aquino into something workable”. 

Disclosure is a tool, and not an end. It make us all accountable and eventually earn the people’s trust at the end of the day," Robredo said, reiterating that “our campaign is in line with President Noynoy Aquino’s call for a “matuwid na daan (straight and narrow road)” to minimize, prevent graft and corruption in all government offices, including the local governments.” 

Robredo further said the DILG gives financial incentives to LGUs that comply with the policy. 

The Performance Challenge Fund is a grant that is made available to provinces, cities and municipalities in recognition, or as an incentive for good performance in the area of governance. 

One of the criteria is to obtain the “good housekeeping seals” in key governance areas of planning, budgeting, revenue mobilization, financial management and budget execution, procurement and resource mobilization.  (Rizalie A. Calibo/PIA-Siquijor with reports from Eda Lou T. Manigo & Renan Ansing)