Success Stories

Participants from the academe listen to an Opening Message by Genevieve Asselin of the Embassy of Canada in Manila during the first day of the Training of Trainors on Sustainable Local Economic Development held in Manila from 14-18 December 2015 for Local Resource Institutes.

Manila, 14 December 2015—About 30 representatives of eleven (11) academic institutions from across the country are gathered in Manila for a 3-day training to become the newest trainors on Sustainable Local Economic Development (LED) of the Department of the Interior for Local Government (DILG). The activity entitled, ‘Training of Trainers in Sustainable Local Economic Development,’ is held from December 14 to 16, 2015 at Novotel, Cubao, Quezon City.

DILG trains academic institutions to be training providers of local government units to learn about Local Economic Development as part of their efforts to become more business-friendly and competitive. Participants are representatives from universities, colleges, and training institutes that were identified capable to help the Department roll out its LED courses for LGUs.

Local Government Academy (LGA), as DILG’s lead agency in providing capacity development for LGUs, normally offer the LED Courses through its LED4LGUs curriculum as part of its regular programming. However, considering the foreseen influx of newly elected officials following next year’s elections, it is imperative for LED4LGUs be made available in more localities across the country, said LGA Division Chief Jun Maralli.

LGA Executive Director Marivel Sacendoncillo also highlighted the role of the academe in growing local economies of the communities where they are located. She said the academe is important in capacitating local governments so that, in turn, they can create an environment that enables business growth and expansion so that more jobs are created locally.

Tapping the academe as local resource institutes of DILG—particularly of knowledge and skills on Local Economic Development—was first initiated through the Local Governance Support Program for Local Economic (LGSP-LED), a cooperative program of DILG that is supported by the Government of Canada. LGSP-LED aims to reduce poverty by helping local governments create conditions conducive to growth through becoming more business-friendly and through building competitive local industries with the private sector.

Genevieve Asselin, First Secretary of the Embassy of Canada in Manila, recognized the contributions of local governments in the country’s economic growth. According to Asselin, LGSP-LED since its inception in 2008 has helped 134 LGUs in attracting up to 55 billion new investments to date.

LED courses, commonly known as LED4LGUs, help local governments create local economic and investment promotion offices, develop their LED strategies, and sustaining growth from their priority local industries, among others.#