DILG appeals to LGUs to complete ELA by year-end

2005/10/07

DILG appeals to LGUs to complete ELA by year-end

Iloilo City (7 October) -- The Department of the Interior and Local Government appealed to local governments who have enrolled in the program to complete the formulation of their Executive-Legislative Agenda (ELA) by the end of this year to give way for its implementation in the latter half of the term of current local officials.

DILG Regional Director Evelyn A. Trompeta noted that out of the ninety-five local governments that have enlisted for guidance in the ELA formulation last year, only twelve have completed the documents as of September 2005. They are: Balete, Aklan; Tapaz, Capiz; Dingle, Duenas, Lambunao, Miag-ao, New Lucena, Oton, San Enrique and San Miguel in Iloilo province; and Himamaylan and Kabankalan cities in Negros Occidental.

DILG reports also show that several LGUs have not taken off from Step 1 of ELA formulation. An LGU enrollee has to undergo twelve steps to complete the ELA document.

In 2004, DILG has designed ELA to foster complete understanding between the executive and legislative bodies of the thrusts and priorities of local government administrations for the next three years, in order to ensure an effective and efficient delivery of services for their constituents.

"The ELA is more usable and responsive (to the needs of the LGU) than the 27 other plans required by the national government," said DILG Assistant Secretary Austere Panadero during an ELA orientation in Iloilo City, adding that, "municipalities belonging to the 5th and 6th classes could benefit most from the ELA, given their very limited share of the Internal Revenue Allotment."

The ELA is not a stand-alone system, but is based upon the performance of the local government as assessed through the Local Productivity Performance Measurement System (LPPMS), a self-assessment tool conducted annually by the LGU. The LPPMS is rated based on indicators on governance, administration, service delivery, environmental management and economic management.

As a planning tool, the LPPMS clearly identifies the LGU’s areas for development. The DILG-trained coaches, some 38 of them for Western Visayas, are guiding the LGUs that opt to formulate their ELA in prioritizing weak areas while seeking to improve on or sustain strong points.

"We appeal to these LGUs to finish their ELA formulation, so that they could implement their plans and see the results before the next local elections,” Trompeta said. “It has been a year since we started ELA formulation, and by this time our LGU enrollees should have been more than halfway in the process, but we regret that this is not the case. Our ELA coaches are on hand to guide them, so I hope the LGUs would take opportunity to complete the document in the soonest time possible." (DILG/PIA)

Cabatuan.com - Kasimanwa.com - Austere Panadero