For the past decade, Naga City has greatly harnessed information communication technology (ICT) to enhance and redefine traditional notions of governance.

At the heart of Naga City’s initiatives is a program called i-Governance, where citizens participate in civic affairs and local decision-making. Naga City believes giving its people access to governance leads to a more accountable and responsive government and fuels innovative approaches in city management.

The chief architect of these reforms is Mayor Jesse Robredo who was project manager of the Bicol River Rehabilitation Project before he ran for mayor in 1988 at the age of 29, riding on a bold platform of reform and inclusive governance.

Mayor Robredo instituted a range of innovative initiatives to raise efficiency in city operations and promote local participation in all civic affairs. The city government launched a Productivity Improvement Program (one of the Top Ten Outstanding Programs in the 1995 Gawad Galing Pook) for its 400 city workers. Instituting a merit and results-oriented assessment system, employees were rewarded and motivated to become more productive. A Personnel Selection Board enabled the city to do away with political patronage in hiring personnel.

Aside from improving worker productivity, the city also initiated wide-ranging efforts to computerize its operations in 1995. Naga City’s Informations and Communications Technology Development Program (1996 awardee) led to the computerization of all activities in the city government, the establishment of a local database with essential information on the household population in every barangay, and the creation of technical assistance services to line department with all their hardware and software needs.

For more than five years now, Naga City has been pioneering systems of partnerships. In 1994, its Metro Naga Development Council was cited in the Gawad Galing Pook for its innovative approach to achieving economic growth and delivering services. Thirteen municipal governments and two cities, NGOs and private sector partners united to support a common development plan and complemented each other’s resources.

Another innovative partnership is through the Naga City People’s Council, a local federation of close to 100 non-government and people’s organizations in the city. Through the program, NGOs and POs can observe, vote and actively participate in the deliberation, conceptualization, implementation and evaluation of projects; activities and programs of the city government.

The program won for Mayor Robredo the 2000 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service for utilizing “citizen empowerment through the distinctive ordinance creating a People’s Council that would explicitly ensure the continuing participation of NGOs and POs in all future city deliberations”.

The program was further bolstered by the city’s People Empowerment Program (2002 awardee) which includes a massive information program so that citizens are fully aware of their rights to demand good public service. The city government put out the Naga City Citizens Charter, which describes its key services for its local constituents. Along with a detailed description of each service is a step-by-step guide on how to use the service, the standard response time for its delivery, and the city hall officers and staff responsible for its operation.

An online version is the NerServe which provides an extensive catalog of services the city government provides.

Other trailblazing programs of Naga City that won in the Gawad Galing Pook are the following:

• Naga City Emergency Rescue Network (1994 awardee), aimed at providing fast and reliable service in times of emergency to save lives and property;
• Naga Kaantabay sa Kauswagan (1994 awardee), which focuses on empowering the urban poor, exploring alternative modes of land acquisition and strengthening urban poor participation in local governance; and
• Naga Early Education and Development (1996 awardee), which provides a special education program for children with physical disability and a school for early education and development to showcase the best and the brightest preschoolers in the city.