LA TRINIDAD, Benguet– The municipal government is inviting residents of the town’s sixteen barangays to actively participate in the second round of the so-called town hall meeting to be held at the municipal gymnasium on Monday, December 2, 2019.
Mayor Romeo K. Salda said that local officials and heads of offices of the local government will be present during the town hall meeting to personally answer the questions, issues and concerns raised by participating constituents from the municipality on the different programs, projects and activities of the municipality for these to be immediately answered by the concerned officials.
“We want to replicate the success of our first town hall meeting we conducted several months ago. We want to listen to the comments, suggestions and recommendations of our constituents on the way we implement our programs, projects and activities so that we will be able to cater to their needs,” Mayor Salda stressed.
Earlier, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) directed all local governments to engage their constituents by conducting periodic town hall meetings to allow the people to raise their concerns on the programs, projects and activities of both the national and local governments.
Under the setup of the town hall meeting, concerned citizens can question local officials and heads of offices on the various programs and projects of the government which they want to be clarified pursuant to the policy on transparent and accountable governance.
The mayor admitted the concerned offices of the municipal government need to effectively and efficiently address the concerns of the people on pressing issues affecting the municipality so these constituents can help in clarifying to their fellow citizens the problems being encountered by the different offices in the implementation of their programmed projects.
According to him, people are now empowered to bring to the attention of the local officials and the concerned heads of offices their comments, suggestions and recommendations on the way the different government agencies and the local government handle the implementation of the programs and projects.
Mayor Salda claimed the municipality is fast becoming a melting pot of different cultures that is why the municipal government has to work on invocations on the way programs, projects and activities are being undertaken so that the same will be inclusive pursuant to the mandate of President Rodrigo Duterte for concerned government agencies and local governments to be inclusive on aspects of development.
Based on the DILG memorandum, local governments are required to submit to the said department a comprehensive report on the discussions done during the two hall meetings to serve as a reference in gauging their compliance to the goal of transparent and accountable governance regularly being espoused for the said purpose, especially that people are now clamouring for inclusivity.
By HENT
Photo by ARMANDO BOLISLIS
