Pasig City, Philippines. Twenty-two mayors and their technical teams from across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and Sulu wrapped up a five-day learning exchange in Metro Manila and Bataan on Friday, capping “Benchmarking for Better Governance: Integrity, Inter-LGU Collaboration, Social Cohesion and Resilience.” The activity, held last September 22-26, 2025, is part of the LGU Fellowship on Social Cohesion and Resilience (SCR) led by the Galing Pook Foundation and The Asia Foundation, with support from BARMM-MILG and the Australian Embassy.

The participants visited Pasig City, Quezon City, and Bataan Province to study working models of adaptive governance, anti-corruption, and people-centered service delivery. Highlights included the sharing by Kap Tony Bolanos on Barangay Cayabu, Tanay’s Galing Pook-recognized “From Black to Green: Fishponds, Eco-Tourism and Full Employment,”; discussions by the Asian Institute of Management on the renewable energy, transportation and blue carbon labs; and the sharing by Prof. Benjie Mirasol and Jon Fernandez of the Ateneo Intellectual Property Office on their innovation work at the Ateneo Impact Lab.

The Fellows also visited the province of Bataan where they were given orientation on the Bataan’s Public-Private Partnership programs, and the 1Bataan Seal of Healthy Barangay. And the Metro Bataan Development Authority (MBDA) for province-wide coordination. The Bataan leg also showcased how a province coordinates cross-boundary issues—from mobility and disaster preparedness to harmonized land-use and environmental management—through the proposed MBDA framework.

The week closed with a synthesis session where fellows consolidated takeaways and identified immediate next steps for their own LGUs—aimed at translating lessons on integrity, collaboration, and social cohesion into implementable actions at home.