Philippine experience in strengthening people's participation in local governance

The paper examines the provisions made by the Local Government Code enacted in 1991. The code, which aimed to curb the powers of the national government, mandated the transfer of powers, resources, authority and responsibilities from the national to the local government through the process of devolution. The paper analyses the main obstacles encountered in strengthening popular participation and discusses the key enabling factors for the latter. The three "I's" strategic approach of engaging local governance - implementation, improvements and interface - is presented. The implementation track promotes direct engagement with local governments and greater accountability among different stakeholders. The improvement track focuses on policy advocacy and amendments to the Code. The interface track engages local governance along other social reform measures. The paper concludes drawing the key lessons and challenges presented by the Philippine experience.