DILG DavNor conducts ELA review for its field officers

TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte, July 08 (PIA)—Review and appreciation of the Executive and Legislative Agenda (ELA) is being conducted today for field officers of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Provincial Field Office.

Provincial Director Alex Roldan, in an interview, said he initiated such activity for city and municipal Local Government Operations Officers (C/MLGOO)  in response to a number of requests of local government executives to  assist them in coming with  the ELA.

“We are equipping our staff to look at and appreciate the process so they will become effective coaches of LGUs,” he said.

He, however, said that the activity complements with efforts of the Local Government Academy of DILG which today simultaneously starts conducting a two-day seminar on coaching LGUs to frame the  ELA.

Research site http://www.jmc2007compendium.com/  describes the Executive-Legislative Agenda (ELA) as a vehicle for effective local governance”, defining it as a planning document, covering a three-year period corresponding to the term of local elective officials mutually developed and agreed upon by both the executive and legislative departments of an LGU.

ELA is an integrated plan that contains the major development thrusts and priorities of both the executive and legislative branches towards a common vision for the locality; an instrument that will prioritize responses to multi-stakeholder needs, e.g., programs,  projects, activities, legislations and capacity development programs, and put into action as local development plans.

The ELA serves as a guide of the executive and the legislative branches of local government towards a unified vision, mission, goals and objectives, enabling the two branches to agree on priority problems and issues.

It helps the LGUs focus on a set of interventions towards the attainment of a common set of objectives and goals; increases the chances for implementation of priority programs of the executive department, if the legislative branch formulates ordinances in support of the LCE program of government; and speeds up the implementation of priority projects.

Roldan  bared ELA as one of the requirements of earning the Seal of Good-housekeeping and other LGU awards such that of the full disclosure program.

He  made it  clear  that nothing new is being introduced in the ELA process but he emphasized the need for LGUs to use the latest data as basis of their planning process “so they can come with achievable and realistic plans.”  (PIA XI/ Jeanevive Duron-Abangan)