ULAP, in partnership with the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PHL-OGP) Steering Committee, Open Data Philippines, Microsoft Philippines, PLDT Alpha Enterprise, Galing Pook Foundation, Civika Foundation, Ayala Foundation, and Access Health International - Philippines, conducted a forum entitled “Innovative Solutions on Open Government Partnerships”. The Luzon LGUs was held on November 28, 2014 at 3/F Sanofi Aventis Philippines, Feliza Building, 108 VA Rufino St., Makati City while the Visayas and Mindanao LGUs was held on December 4, 2014 at Grand Convention Center, Cebu City.
Luzon LGUs, November 28, 2014 in Makati City
Visayas and Mindanao LGUs, December 4, 2014 in Cebu City
This forum is a follow through event to the Good Governance Dialogues Regional Fora conducted by ULAP, in partnership with the Office of the President, Phil-OGP, DBM, USAID FPI-DAI and InciteGov. The event provided an opportunity for the LGUs to have a hands-on experience on the solutions that they can utilize and at the same time feasible to implement in their respective offices. By also providing technical
assistance, LGUs can have a complete understanding on these technology-based innovations that can help them achieve not just a transparent and accountable government, but also become more responsive, effective and efficient in delivering public services to their constituents.

The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) is proud to be part of the success of Text2Teach in winning the Gold Standard award in Public Private Partnerships in Hong Kong.
ULAP serves as the key advocacy partner of Ayala Foundation for program development and policy support for the implementation of Text2Teach with local governments all over the country.
ULAP will continue the partnership for Text2Teach for expansion and mainstreaming over the next years.
Local governments who are interested to partner with the Text2Teach consortium may contact the ULAP Secretariat at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
[Press Release courtesy of Ayala Foundation Inc.]

Good Governance Dialogue NCR Leg, September 1-3, 2014 in Quezon City
The Good Governance Dialogue kicked off its first leg at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria in Quezon City. LGUs and CSOs from the National Capital Region (NCR), Regions 3, 4A, 4B and 5 were invited for the said event. The Good Governance Dialogue is a two-day event wherein the 2015 National Budget was discussed on the first day and the Open Government Partnerships and Commitments on the second day.
A total number of 329 attended the dialogue. 92 from LGUs, 72 from CSOs, 4 from Business Sector, 13 from the Academe, 53 from National Government Agencies (NGAs), 26 from Regional NGAs.
The President of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), Oriental Mindoro Governor Alfonso V. Umali, Jr., gave the opening remarks. Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Florencio Abad presented the Budget Reforms that the current administration has implemented and how this help the national government achieved its growth over the past four years. DBM Undersecretary Luz Cantor then followed with a presentation of the FY 2015 National Expenditure Program (NEP) and Budget Priorities. The final speaker for the morning session was DBM Director Rolly Toledo, who discussed an overview of Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) Approach.
The afternoon of the Good Governance Dialogues Day 1 was a simultaneous break-out sessions in which the ZBB Studies of PIDS were presented to the LGUs and local CSOs.
The second day of the Good Governance Dialogue focused on the Open Government Partnership. It started with DBM Undersecretary Richard Moya on the discussion and overview of the Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Cluster and OGP. A message of support from one of the development partners, the USAID, was given by Deputy Director Reed Aeschliman. Director Aeschliman acknowledged the government's effort in Open Government Partnership, budget reforms and anti-corruption programs.
Two Talakayan sessions were done on the Day 2 morning session. Mr. Howie Severino, a well known journalist and currently GMA Networks Vice President for Professional Development served as the moderator.
First "Talakayan" Dialogue Session
The first talakayan session was about the Open Government Opportunities and Challenges. Invited guests were: Undersecretary Moya of DBM, Undersecretary Austere Panadero of Department of Interior and Local Government, Commission of Audit Chairperson Ma. Gracia Tan, Professor Solita Monsod of Movement for Good Governance and Mr. Peter Perfecto of the Makati Business Club.
Second "Talakayan" Dialogue Session
The second talakayan session was about the Notable Good Governance Practices of the Local Governments. Invited guests were Local Chief Executives who received awards and notable recognition from the national government on their initiatives on good governance, transparency and anti-corruption efforts. Invited guests were: ULAP President and Oriental Mindoro Governor Alfonso Umali Jr., Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla, Carmona, Cavite Mayor Dahlia Loyola, Balanga, Bataan Mayor Joet Garcia and Marikina City Governor Del De Guzman.
The afternoon session of Day 2 started with an overview on co-created OGP Action Plan between the national government and the LGUs and Local CSOs. Ms. Ching Jorge of INCITEGov presented the said plan to the participants. A workshop and breakout session was done and the participants were divided per region. Each facilitator discussed the 9 commitments of the national government to the OGP and asked the participants on how they can help in achieving each commitment through their current projects and programs.
Each region presented their workshops output and a ceremonial handover of workshop outputs and materials was conducted. DBM Assistant Secretary Maxine Tanya Hamada accepted these in behalf of the national government. All participants were also asked to sign the commitment tarp of the OGP.
To end the two-day event, Atty Marlon Manuel, NAPC Vice Chairman for Basic Sectors, gave the closing remarks.

Good Governance Dialogue Visayas Leg, October 16-17, 2014 in Cebu City
The Good Governance Dialogue Visayas Leg was held on October 16-17, 2014 at Crown Regency Hotel and Towers in Cebu City. The participants for this leg, who are local chief executives, local CSOs and local representatives from national government agencies, media, business groups and international development partners, came from Regions 6, 7, and 8.
Good Governance Dialogue Northern Mindanao Leg, October 23-24, 2014 in Cagayan De Oro City
The Good Governance Dialogue Northern Mindanao Leg was held on October 23-24, 2014 at Limketkai Luxe Hotel, in Cagayan de Oro City. The participants for this leg, who are local chief executives, local CSOs and local representatives from national government agencies, media, business groups and international development partners, came from region 9, 10, and 13.
Good Governance Dialogue Mindanao Leg, November 6-7, 2014 in Davao City
The Good Governance Dialogue Mindanao Leg was held on November 6-7, 2014 at The Pinnacle Hotel and Suites in Davao City. The participants for this leg, who are local chief executives, local CSOs and local representatives from national government agencies, media, business groups and international development partners, came from region 11, 12, and ARMM.
Good Governance Dialogue Northern Luzon Leg, November 13-14, 2014 in Baguio City
The Good Governance Dialogue Northern Luzon Leg was held on November 13-14, 2014 at The City Lights Hotel in Baguio City. The participants for this leg, who are local chief executives, local CSOs and local representatives from national government agencies, media, business groups and international development partners, came from Region 1, Region 2, and CAR.
The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines is one of the members of the National Steering Committee of Philippine-Open Government Partnership (Ph-OGP). ULAP in partnership with the Office of the President, Department of Budget Management (DBM), USAID and INCITEGov , is currently organizing a series of regional fora entitled “Good Governance Dialogues.”
The Good Governance Dialogues is a series of fora that brings together national and local governments, civil society, business groups, academe, international development partners and media to discuss reforms on open governance and fiscal transparency. This is in line with the Philippine’s membership in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) – an international initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.
This dialogue series is part of the continuing collaboration between government and non-government partners in promoting and sustaining the good governance reforms, following the success of the Good Governance Summit and Daylight Dialogue this year. The forum will be conducted in various regions of the country.

The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines is in various online news for mainstreaming Text2Teach. Click the following links below:
Foundation’s Tex2Teach to benefit public schools
Text to Teach is Now Running on its 10th Year
Mobile learning package Text2Teach celebrates 10th Anniversary
How mobile technology has bridged the education gap in PH
Text2teach Celebrates 10th Anniversary with Mainstream Implementation in the Philippines
Text2Teach in all public schools by 2016

[May 28, 2014] The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, as represented by its Executive Director Czarina Medina-Guce, participated in the Open Government Partnership Regional Summit in Bali Indonesia, on May 5-6. The Philippine contingent is composed of representatives from the Office of the President, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Budget and Management, House of Representatives, and partners from the civil society, academe, and business sectors.
The Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multilateral initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance, through meaningful and collaborative work with civil society and other non-government sectors. The Philippines is a founding member of the OGP in 2011. ULAP is the local government representative to the national steering committee of the Philippine OGP.
Some of the current commitments of the Philippines in the OGP are the Seal of Good Local Governance, Open Data Philippines, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Grassroots Participatory Budgeting, and the Transparency Seal.
In her sharing in the Closing Plenary, Medina-Guce emphasized that in order for open governance to be effective and have impact, OGP must be owned by local governments. The relevance of OGP to ordinary citizen’s everyday consciousness will only happen if OGP will be brought to the frontlines, which is the domain of local governments. Local governments must work on OGP projects not just on the level of compliance to the national government, but local governments must be able to understand OGP and put their own stake and resources for innovative openness to happen.
Moving forward, ULAP will co-create the national action plan with the members of the steering committee, and advocate for intensified participation of local governments in OGP. Collaborative work with the Department of Budget and Management for the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting, and OGP-related fora with development partners, national agencies and civil society groups are currently being pursued, aside from the current work of ULAP in the OGP-Philippines commitments.