Government think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) has identified local government units (LGUs) as key players in promoting economic progress in the country by strengthening their capabilities to do research-based planning and policymaking.

According to its president, Dr. Josef Yap, the PIDS intends to bring its research outputs to the local level to back up LGUs own analyses of the different issues affecting local policies. In so doing, he believes that the capabilities of LGUs to conduct analysis of these issues will be strengthened.

Policymaking is a crucial task of government as policies direct a countrys development path. As such, it becomes imperative for policymakers to make informed choices from a number of policy alternatives, Yap added.

Meanwhile, the PIDS is developing a template or framework that LGUs may use as guide for their own analyses using local data and information that may have been derived from their own surveys and field experiences. In doing so, the PIDS hopes to help LGUs come out with quality policies that are responsive to local needs.

This proposal of PIDS will be presented in a forum on Crafting Good Policies for Sustainable Upland Development at the Local Level which will be held on September 26 at the Grand Boulevard Hotel in Manila. Speakers from the various local levels, in particular, Mayor Givel Mamaril of Malalag, Davao del Sur and Congressman Rodolfo Agbayani, former governor of Nueva Vizcaya, will present some of their experiences in terms of best practices and good policies that their local governments have crafted to support sustainable upland development in their jurisdiction.

In His keynote address, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Deputy Director General Augusto Santos is also expected to present some of the planning guidelines for governments developed by the NEDA.

The forum is the highlight of this year`s celebration of the Development Policy Research Month (DPRM), which has the theme, Pananaliksik sa Pagpapaunlad ng Pamamahalang Lokal. The celebration of the DPRM every September is based on Proclamation No. 247 of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in recognition of the role of policy research in the decisionmaking and nation-building processes in the country. The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) is the designated lead agency in the annual DPRM celebration.

Main Menu

Secondary Menu