Typhoons "Ondoy" and "Pepeng" left many provinces reeling from the massive loss of lives and property, and in dire need of financial aid to help victims. The calamities have underlined the urgency of augmenting local government resources in order to more effectively respond to crisis situations and provide better services more generally.

Representatives of 16 LGUs, including nine municipal mayors, gathered in Iloilo City last week to assess the progress of capability-building efforts for alternative revenue generation to help municipalities provide more services to their constituents and increase their appeal to foreign investors. The forum and technical consultation was conducted by the University of Asia & Pacific (UA&P) in partnership with the British Embassy for their joint project, Alternative Financing Options for Local Government Units (Project ALFI).

Project ALFI is a programme to assist local government units in tapping alternative modes of generating funds to become more financially independent from the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) and national government financing. At present, local government units can only disburse 24% of IRA funds for public welfare (health) and 13% for economic development.

"This project... aims to help finance important projects with the least or at no cost to the municipalities. The longer-term objective is to support local governments in becoming more financially independent which in turn will allow you to provide more and better services to your constituents," British Ambassador Stephen Lillie addressed the local government officials during his opening remarks.

The three-year initiative provides technical assistance to LGUs in establishing profitable ventures, maximising borrowings and forging tie-ups with the private sector. Under the program, 71 local government officials have been trained so far, including 22 mayors.

A unique component of the project is the professional mentoring program, with faculty members of the University of Asia & Pacific (UA&P) acting as consultants. It is the first project of its kind to help LGUs from the conceptualisation of a project down to the actual implementation. At present, 16 municipalities are undergoing professional mentoring. The programme addresses a perennial problem of LGUs, which oftentimes lack the skills in preparing successful project proposals for partnerships with the private sector.

"In the UK... the strong partnership of the local government and private sector has allowed local constituents to reap the economic benefits of infrastructure projects at the earliest possible time. The message that I would like to convey here is that even in developed economies like the UK, the resources of local governments are similarly limited. The services that local governments need to deliver are too many that it would take significant amount of resources and time to be realised. This is where partnership with the private sector and civil society can create a huge difference," said Lillie.

Lillie also stressed the importance of a less carbon intensive economic growth as more and more calamities related to global warming arise. "Local governments will need to ensure that adaptation and mitigation measures to climate change are incorporated in annual investment and development plans. Efforts to improve the local economy can be undermined by inaction on climate change. A stronger partnership and shared responsibility will be important in responding to the challenges posed by climate change." The UK is pressing hard for an ambitious agreement at the UN Climate Change negotiations in Copenhagen this December.

-ENDS-

Notes for Editors

For further information, please contact:
Joseph Rey Imperial [Programme Manager] 858 2208
Lynn Ayers Plata [Press, Visits and Events Officer] 858 2203

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