The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), as the umbrella organization of all the local government units (LGUs) and elected local officials, has been working on governance policy inputs and partnerships relevant in mainstreaming migration and development (M&D) into local governance.

On this agenda, ULAP is engaged in the following projects:

• Pinoy Worldwide Initiative on Investments, Savings, and Entrepreneurship (PINOY WISE) Movement which ran in 2012 to 2013, with Atikha, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Department of Agriculture, Philippine Embassy to the UAE, Philippine National Bank, among others, wherein a set of pilot provinces were engaged to explore mainstreaming of migration and development in local governments by preparing and connecting opportunities for investments, savings, and entrepreneurship from the source province to the migrants abroad.

• Under this phase of the engagement, a preliminary draft of the Migration and Development Local Governance Roadmap was presented by then ULAP Director for Plans & Programs (now Executive Director) Czarina Medina-Guce in the Global Forum for Remittances 2013, organized by The World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in the session on “Remittances and Financial Inclusion: From Financial Literacy to Investment Models” on May 20-23, 2013 in Bangkok Thailand.

• “Strengthening, Upscaling, and Mainstreaming International Migration and Development in CALABARZON1” (SUMMID CALABARZON), which runs June 2014 to February 2016, is implemented in five provinces of Region 4A (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon). SUMMID CALABARZON is implemented in partnership with the UNDP, Committee on Migration and Development (CMD) under NEDA Regional Office 4A, Atikha, CFO, and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) – Local Government Academy (LGA). The project is funded by the European Union and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation through the Joint Migration and Development Initiatives (JMDI) Phase 2. ULAP leads the development of knowledge products and documentation of the governance approaches which can be used as a tool and input for the mainstreaming of the M&D initiatives in more LGUs. ULAP has documented the governance strategies of the five CALABARZON provinces by conducting a series of consultations with the Local Chief Executives from February to March 2015, focus group discussions with local migration initiative implementers in April, and key informant interviews with various stakeholders from May to June.

•  “Scaling up Initiatives in Mobilizing Migrant Resources towards Agriculture Development in the Philippines2,” also in partnership with Atikha with a grant support from the IFAD. The project focuses on scaling up initiatives to mobilize migrant resources towards agriculture development. It primarily aims to increase the mobilization of migrant resources and remittances towards viable agriculture development and rural poverty reduction in the pilot provinces of the Philippines. The project will run for two years, from January 2015 to December 2016.
  With the experience of engaging the LGUs to mainstream M&D into local governance, ULAP is developing a Migration and Development (M&D) Local Governance Roadmap, which serves as a tool to support the M&D implementation of the LGUs, with a special attention to the executive and legislative approach of the elected officials.

The roadmap is set to contain the initial menu of suggested strategies under five pillars identified by ULAP as important components of governance for implementing, and eventually mainstreaming, M&D. The menu of strategies can be use by both the executive and legislative of the LGUs as an input and reference in implementing M&D and creating local innovations to maximize the contribution of migration to local development.

The menu of strategies outlined in the roadmap is mostly drawn from the context and identified priorities of the province gathered through the implementation of the two projects ULAP is currently engaged with. The roadmap should be able to broaden the range of options of provinces to innovatively connect M&D-related programs with their local economic development plans.

This white paper is meant to highlight the pillars of M&D in local governance. This answers the preliminary question, “If I were a Local Chief Executive or Local Legislator meaning to develop strategies, policies, and programs for M&D in my locality, what core considerations must I take into account?”

This white paper is also published as a reference for ULAP’s partners in the government and non-government sectors, who are all, in their own capacities, are contributing to the shaping of policy environments.

Moving forward, in the succeeding white papers in the series, ULAP will flesh out the components of these five pillars, with due reference to the local governments that have successfully implemented M&D in their core programs. Furthermore, succeeding white papers will explore the relationship of M&D in local governance with multi-stakeholder engagements of the local government with national government agencies, non-profits organizations, and private sector organizations.

1. This project is an offshoot of the Pinoy Worldwide Initiative on Investments, Savings, and Entrepreneurship (PinoyWISE) program, which ULAP has been involved in since 2012. PinoyWISE aims to strengthen, upscale, and mainstream migration and development in the local level to minimize the social cost and maximize economic gains of overseas migration.
2. The ongoing implementation of the project targets seven provinces, namely Tarlac, Batangas, Laguna, Oriental Mindoro, Ifugao, Agusan Del Sur, and Surigao Del Sur.