They are all dead now, the six (Ramon P. Binamira, Alberto Ramos, Pio Almodiel, Alfredo Dimaano, Damaso Dimaano, Benito Benitez) who were some of the pillars of the old Presidential Assistant for Community Development (PACD) in the 50s. They ere among those who led efforts to do something innovative about the purely service delivery approach which characterized community development work since its launching.
During the 70s and 80s, community empowerment approaches emerged which promoted the no-linkage-with-government policy. Several NGOs and some Church-based groups were thrust into national prominence in their advocacy of these approaches which distinguished themselves from the traditional extension agent approach of the Government.
From a pioneering effort, PACD became part of the bureaucracy with its elaborate structure that extends from the national, regional, provincial to the village level. With successive national elections and changes in the political structure, PACD could not fend off political influences and its sheer size became a problem in ensuring quality performance of the barrio workers who linked up national agencies to the people. RPB was replaced with politicians and, as expected, the barrio workers were perceived more as working for their interests. The acronym PACD became translated into Pag-Abot Caon Dayon (When they arrive, they eat right away!).
The Department of Local Government and Community Development or DLGCD took its place or it was actually the old structure given a new name. Community development was simplified as the organization of cooperatives, which were still an alien and quite sophisticated as far as the village people were concerned. Meanwhile the bad image of the department persisted. The acronym DLGCD came to be known as Department of Local Girls and Contraceptive Devices under the martial law regime. Perhaps this was due to the alleged or rumored practice of arranging dates with "chicks" for visiting officials and politicians. True or not, such rumor indicated that the perceived negative image was not addressed during those years.
In the course of time, community development was dropped from the name of the department. It became officially known as DILG or Department of Interior and Local Government.
DILG has gone through major reforms. Those under the administration of the late Sec. Jesse Robredo were designed to professionalize local governance with its emphasis on performance score cards, cash awards and recognition for LGUs which perform well in cutting bureaucratic red tape, and so on.
Perhaps it is not in the mandate of DILG to worry about the systematic participation of local communities to ensure that the benefits of good governance result in improving the situation of the poorest of the poor or the most disadvantaged and marginalized among the communities that LGUs deal with from day to day.
This is an area where LGUs can partner with civil society organizations and NGOs, as well as the private sector, to ensure that service delivery to poor households will be politics-free.
During the 70s and 80s, community empowerment approaches emerged which promoted the no-linkage-with-government policy. Several NGOs and some Church-based groups were thrust into national prominence in their advocacy of these approaches which distinguished themselves from the traditional extension agent approach of the Government.
From a pioneering effort, PACD became part of the bureaucracy with its elaborate structure that extends from the national, regional, provincial to the village level. With successive national elections and changes in the political structure, PACD could not fend off political influences and its sheer size became a problem in ensuring quality performance of the barrio workers who linked up national agencies to the people. RPB was replaced with politicians and, as expected, the barrio workers were perceived more as working for their interests. The acronym PACD became translated into Pag-Abot Caon Dayon (When they arrive, they eat right away!).
The Department of Local Government and Community Development or DLGCD took its place or it was actually the old structure given a new name. Community development was simplified as the organization of cooperatives, which were still an alien and quite sophisticated as far as the village people were concerned. Meanwhile the bad image of the department persisted. The acronym DLGCD came to be known as Department of Local Girls and Contraceptive Devices under the martial law regime. Perhaps this was due to the alleged or rumored practice of arranging dates with "chicks" for visiting officials and politicians. True or not, such rumor indicated that the perceived negative image was not addressed during those years.
In the course of time, community development was dropped from the name of the department. It became officially known as DILG or Department of Interior and Local Government.
DILG has gone through major reforms. Those under the administration of the late Sec. Jesse Robredo were designed to professionalize local governance with its emphasis on performance score cards, cash awards and recognition for LGUs which perform well in cutting bureaucratic red tape, and so on.
Perhaps it is not in the mandate of DILG to worry about the systematic participation of local communities to ensure that the benefits of good governance result in improving the situation of the poorest of the poor or the most disadvantaged and marginalized among the communities that LGUs deal with from day to day.
This is an area where LGUs can partner with civil society organizations and NGOs, as well as the private sector, to ensure that service delivery to poor households will be politics-free.
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