The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is assisting re-elected and returning mayors in the region by providing strategic approaches and formulating their first 100-day plan by conducting a 3-day orientation course designed for newly elected officials. (NEO).
DILG MIMAROPA regional director Wilhelm Suyko said the NEO orientation course will help local chief executives craft action plans and executive agendas, including the formulation of their first 100-day targets.
“May tinatawag din tayo na 100 days in the office, from June—may mga checklist ‘yan. Standard ‘yan, nagawa mo na ba ito, nakapag-create na ba ako ng special bodies. Those are the checklists for 100 days of office. Hindi nila alam ‘yan so they will be coached here, matulungan sa checklist,” he said.
Around 27 re-elected local chief executives have joined the NEO orientation course in Mimaropa after the department initially conducted a separate orientation course for the neophyte mayors. Some 12 mayors from Bataraza, San Vicente, Brooke’s Point, Roxas, El Nido, Narra, Quezon, Culion, Agutaya, Cagayancillo, Balabac, and Araceli participated in the course starting from August 10 to 12.
“Ito ay may mga experience na pero not necessarily all are well-versed and well-experienced,” he added.
The department anticipates that local chief executives will identify new approaches and tools to improve adaptability, resiliency, and economic revitalization during a pandemic. Leadership skills in advancing strategic actions must also be adopted by mayors, particularly in devolution under the Mandanas-Garcia ruling and disaster resiliency.
Suyko said that the region is almost prepared for the implementation of devolution and is continuing to capacitate officials for the transition. The Mandanas-Garcia decision gives local government units (LGUs) full control over the delivery of basic services.
Executive Order 138, signed in 2021, mandates a three-year transition of devolution, which starts in 2022 and runs until 2024.