Representatives from accredited civil society organizations (CSOs) in Cebu convene at the Capitol Social Hall on Thursday, August 15, 2019, for their first conference in time with the celebration of the 450th Founding Anniversary of Cebu Province.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu provincial government plans to accredit more civil society organizations to leverage the state of participatory governance among local government units in the province.
At present, there are at least 160 civil society and peoples’ organization in the province that are accredited by the Provincial Board.
On Thursday, August 15, Capitol hosted the first CSO Conference in line with the month-long celebration of the province’s 450th founding anniversary.
“This event is indeed pivotal as we usher more avenues for participative and collaborative undertakings with the civil society organizations of the province of Cebu,” said Cebu fourth district Provincial Board (PB) Member Kerrie Keanne Shimura.
Shimura, who chairs the PB’s Committee on Accreditation, said her office will maximize their assistance to these groups in order to have more CSOs accredited.
“Be assured that we will give you the kind of hospitable service that you truly deserve. Today, let us mark a new milestone of collaboration as we together tread the roadmap of quality service,” Shimura said during the conference held at the Capitol Social Hall.
Among the requirements for a CSO to be accredited is its registration to appropriate national government agencies that are “empowered by law to register such organizations,” said the 2019 Memorandum Circular of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) that provides the guidelines on the accreditation of CSOs.
DILG-Cebu Local Government Operations Officer Jeffrey Lopez, who discussed with the CSO representatives the relevance of participatory governance, said that having more CSOs accredited will provide a wider network of public consultation and participation.
“I would like to stress that ang gobyerno sa nasud sa Pilipinas dili mahimong gobyerno kung wala ang mga konstituwente nga giserbisyohan sa tanang programa. Every citizen’s participation is crucial as we set ourselves to this task,” said Lopez.
(I would like to stress that the Philippine government cannot truly be a government if not for the constituents that it serves.)/elb