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The League of Cities
of the Philippines (LCP), the umbrella organization
for Philippine cities recently marked the completion
of the third phase of the City Development
Strategies (CDS 3) project, implemented with support
from the Cities Alliance and the World Bank. At a
workshop it held in Quezon City, attended by city
mayors, CDS local teams, consultants, development
partners, financing institutions and national
government officials the LCP spotlighted the project
achievements of the 15 CDS3 cities - Baguio, Balanga,
Cavite, Iriga, Laoag, Puerto Princesa, Tanauan,
Parañaque, Makati, Bago, Canlaon, Tanjay, Pagadian,
Tangub and Zamboanga.
A CDS, one of two key
planks of Cities Alliance’ operations – the other
being Slum Upgrading - is an action plan for
equitable growth in cities and their surrounding
regions, developed and sustained through
participation, to improve the quality of life for
all stakeholders. At the workshop city
representatives at discussed how the CDS approach
has helped them address urban concerns affecting
their localities including, among others, poverty
reduction, local economic development and
environmental management.
The Philippines CDS
Program was launched in 1998 to respond to cities’
concerns in urban development and management. Three
phases of the CDS Program (CDS1, CDS2 and CDIP) have
so far been carried out. CDS3 has just been
completed with efforts being made to measure the
performance of cities in various aspects of city
development. To date a total of 80 out of 120
Philippine cities have prepared their CDS.
The workshop also set
the tone for the future of CDS in the Philippines.
The establishment of the CDS Learning Center, a
mechanism to sustain the CDS capacity building
activities in the medium term, was formalized
through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement
between LCP President and Mandaluyong City Mayor,
Benhur C. Abalos, Jr. and Dean Antonio Laviña of the
Ateneo School of Government. Similar partnership
will also be formalized between the LCP and the
University of the Philippines National College of
Public Administration. The two learning institutions
have agreed to integrate the CDS training modules
into their courses which are offered to local
governments.
A Grant Agreement for
the Strategic Review of the CDS and Preparation of
the State of Philippine Cities Report Project was
also signed with Mayor Abalos signing on behalf of
the LCP and Bert Hofman, Country Director on behalf
of the World Bank. The agreement forms the basis for
the future activities of the Cities Alliance in the
Philippines.
Abalos expressed his
gratitude to both the Cities Alliance and the World
Bank in pursuing the CDS in the Philippines, given
that cities have important roles in enhancing
national development. “The CDS experience in the
Philippines has demonstrated the capacity of the
Filipino people to aim high and achieve excellence.
As models of best practices, we have served as
learning grounds for other countries also
undertaking CDS like India, Vietnam and Indonesia,”
he said. He likewise stressed that the cities can do
so much to improve the overall competitiveness of a
country.
For more
information:
The League of Cities
of the Philippines (LCP):
http://www.lcp.org.ph/
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