Localizing the Millennium Development Goals
Naga City

Growth with equity means simultaneously promoting economic development and sustaining implementation of pro-poor equity enhancing programs. Participatory governance. People empowerment. These are the core philosophies that guide Naga City in all of its endeavors.

The success and realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is in the most part dependent on the delivery of basic social services (e.g. poverty alleviation, health, nutrition, access to education, etc.) and the participation of stakeholders. Thus, the basic sectors, local government units (LGUs), civil society groups and the business sector as frontline institutions are expected to play a significant role in the realization of the MDGs.

But even way before the MDGs were set, the local government of Naga City had already been implementing programs aimed not only at alleviating poverty but also in protecting and empowering its individuals and communities. It is because of these programs that Naga City now holds the distinction of being one of the most innovative, awarded and recognized local government units in the country and abroad.

It was not always that way for Naga. In 1988, when Mayor Jesse Robredo first took the helm of Naga City, the city was beset with a host of problems. It had a huge budgetary deficit and its coffers were almost empty. The local government employees were underpaid and morale was very low. The delivery of basic services to the city’s constituents was very poor. The city also had long standing problems—vice, urban blight, red tape, graft and corruption, and poor tax collection—that had to be addressed immediately. Through the innovations introduced by its dynamic mayor, Naga City managed to work its way out of the doldrums and eventually emerge as a model for other LGUs.

Transparency and Empowerment

The change in Naga can be attributed to the two core programs undertaken by Mayor Robredo: its Productivity Improvement Program/Public Service Excellence Program (PIP/PSEP) and its People Empowerment Programs (PEP).

The PIP/PSEP aimed to professionalize Naga City’s workforce by improving its responsiveness, effectiveness and efficiency in delivering basic services. Through the program, the bureaucracy was streamlined, quick response systems were institutionalized, and red tape was untangled resulting to marked increases in the number of people benefiting from the city’s social and economic services.

In fact, the PIP was mainly responsible for refilling the city’s empty coffers and propelling the city’s revenues from PhP19 million in 1988 to PhP330 million in 2002. Of this amount, 40% or PhP132 million are local revenues generated by the fiscal agencies of the city that is 10 times more than the PhP13 million generated by the same agencies in 1988. Growth of the local economy was pegged at 6.5% per annum which is even higher than the national growth rate levels.

The reforms within the bureaucracy undertaken under the PIP/PSEP also encouraged the entry of public and private sectors investments into Naga City. From 2001 to 2003, at least PhP612 million of investments were approved by the Naga City Investment Board leading to the creation of new jobs for the city’s residents.

The PIP was also instrumental in empowering the Naga City Government Employees Association (NACIGEA) and negotiated the granting of additional fiscal and non-fiscal benefits and incentives to employees. This raised the morale of the city’s employees , which led to inspired and highly productive LGU personnel. With six Dangal ng Bayan (or Country’s Honor) awardees under its belt, Naga posted the highest civic index and received more than sixty national awards for its efforts.

The PEP, on the other hand, institutionalized partnerships and participatory mechanisms in Naga City. Initiated by the LGU in 1989, the PEP aimed to empower marginalized sectors by enabling their participation in the policy-setting and decision-making processes of the city government.

Mayor Robredo estimated that the basic sectors involvement in policy-setting and decision-making would not only mean greater transparency and accountability in governance in the long run but would also ensure the sustainability, acceptability and success of projects implemented by the LGU. As part of the PEP, a People Empowerment Ordinance was enacted which instituted the Naga City People’s Council (NCPC). The Council is composed of around 100 representatives from different non-government organizations (NGOs) and people's organizations (POs) that participate in direction setting, policy making, program and project implementation, monitoring and evaluation. NCPC representatives sit as full members in all of the local special bodies, and are empowered to propose legislations and vote at the committee level of the city council.

But these are not the only programs that introduced reforms that benefited Naga’s people and garnered recognition for the city at the same time. Some of the programs implemented by Naga also benefited other communities in Bicol, either through replication or direct involvement in the program like what has been implemented under the Metro Naga Development Council (MNDC).

Resolving urban poor Issues

The Naga Kaantabay sa Kauswagan (Partners in Development) Program was a poverty alleviating measure aimed at improving the plight of the city’s urban poor and an empowerment measure as well since it mainstreamed the participation of urban poor groups in governing and resolving urban poor issues. To date, at least 5,000 former squatters have been given security of tenure and are now proud owners of home lots in good neighborhoods. A livelihood component was also institutionalized as part of the program.

The urban poor are now represented in the City Development Council and in the Naga City Urban and Housing Development Board. Land tenure problems dating back to the 1950s have been resolved. The program have been widely replicated in other areas in Bicol and was recognized by the United Nations Center for Human Resettlements as a model for the Habitat II Conference in 1996.

Providing access to quality education

The Naga Early Education and Development (NEED) Program addressed the need for improved access and equity in quality education for children and the handicapped by promoting the concept: “education for all.” The program encouraged partnerships between the program implementers, the parents, the barangay councils and the NGOs. It resulted in the establishment of 54 day care centers in 1992 and there are now 60 fully-equipped day care centers manned by competent teachers who were given expanded trainings. It also improved the performance of elementary students and facilitated the integration of disabled children in mainstream education.

Counter-parting was encouraged and the parents contributed and mobilized resources to support the implementation of the program. Although NEED was basically an education program, it also addressed malnutrition problems among children. From a 3.5% incidence of 3rd degree malnutrition in 1987, the incidence of 3rd degree malnutrition is now only .01%. Overall, 67.5% of the preschoolers have attained normal nutrition status. The NEED Program became a regional winner in the Child-Friendly City Awards and has been replicated in at least four municipal day care centers in the province of Camarines Sur.

Technological enhancement of services

The Naga City Government Computerization Program (CGCP) that was started in 1996 improved the responsiveness and competitiveness of the city government’s operations through computerization. The program streamlined internal processes and provided information to support decision-making. CGCP also helped increase local government income by 112% and reduced operating costs.

Disaster preparedness

The Naga Emergency Rescue Network (ERN), another innovative program of Naga, provided fast and reliable service in times of emergency. ERN is a showcase of a successful community resource mobilization as it pools the resources of various city departments, barangay councils, mass media groups, and even government and private medical practitioners. The ERN has saved 15,000 lives, democratized access to vital medicine and protective services, and, is highly effective in disaster rescue and mobilization.

Pooling resources

The Metro Naga Development Council promoted resource pooling among thirteen municipal LGUs, two cities, the NGOs and the private sector. By uniting on a common development plan, resources were maximized (well-off LGUs assisted their less advantaged neighbors) and cooperation in development planning and service delivery was realized. The MNDC gave birth to other collaborative efforts like the Metro Naga Livelihood Fund, Metro Naga Equipment Pool, Enterprise Development, Trade and Exhibition Center, ERN and Isang Irog Environmental Movement.

The MNDC encouraged active participation of other LGUs and all sectors in identifying projects and activities responsive to the peoples’ needs. The people were also equipped with knowledge and marketable and managerial skills for enterprise development among cooperatives.

Employing cyber tools

The I-Governance project which aims to empower every Nagueno, encourages citizen’s participation in all manners of governance. It ensures that relevant information are readily available and easily accessible to the people (through the Naga City Citizen’s Charter) and has provided a 24-7 venue for engagement and feedback gathering through the city website and through text. Access to these tools are made more easy through the established cyberbarangays and cyberschools.

Tackling the MDGs

Aside from continuing its regular programs that impact significantly in the MDG targets, Naga’s efforts to localize the MDGs included: (1) setting or translating its own local indicators and targets for the MDGS through the Naga City People’s Council; (2) setting the baseline through interpolation of regional and provincial figures (in the absence of needed data); (3) reorienting the reporting system to match the MDG indicators since the MDG targets are adequately addressed through its various poverty alleviation measures; and, (4) monitoring and evaluating the MDGs on a sampling basis with full surveys reserved during election years to serve as benchmarks for the new local government administration.

The evaluation done on the efforts of Naga to engage the MDGs shows that the programs are strongly focused on the MDGs and can even be called MDG-programs as these tackle poverty, empowerment, education, health, and other issues. The subsequent achievements of Naga in tackling the MDG challenge has been summed up as: institutionalized multiple contact points for people participation; strong sustainability features; effective executive-legislative partnership; strong local bureaucracy; effective leadership; good climate for local innovation; creativity and experimentation; investments in human resources particularly children, vulnerable groups; effective civil society engagement; and, citizen’s feedback mechanism and ICT-enabled processes.

Much has been written about the successes of Naga. It would not be surprising if, in the near future, a story on how Naga City became the vanguard in realizing the MDGs will also be written and another award is bestowed in recognition of its continuing efforts to excel.