To advocate for participatory governance, social accountability, and transparency, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) commenced on Thursday, October 12, at the Rosvenil Hotel, the two-day Safe Space and Trust Building in Governance, Consensus, and Network Building Seminar Workshop for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Tacloban City.

The activity, which will be held until Friday, Oct. 13, is a component of the Cities for Enhanced Governance and Engagement (CHANGE) and is being facilitated by USAID Change Project Component Leads Maria Paz Christi Moneva and Redempto Parafina, along with City Governance Coordinator Gemma Borreros and Program Coordinator Julie-Ann Deus.

To show his commitment to the event, Mayor Alfred Romualdez, in his welcome message during the event, underscored the significance of making smarter decisions and crafting policies that are adaptable to the culture to achieve development.

The Chief Executive also expressed his gratitude to USAID for their support when the city was recovering from Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Among the CSOs participating in the two-day activity are the City PWD Federation, One Way Bike Club, World Vision, United Leymar Transport Cooperative, Kabalikat Civicom, United Architects of the Philippines Metro Tacloban, and PICE.

Increased engagement of CSOs in and oversight of local governance processes in a manner that the government approves of and supports is one of the goals of CHANGE.

One of the nine secondary cities where CHANGE initiatives are being carried out is Tacloban City. It is for this purpose that the local city council is being urged to approve the memorandum of understanding, which will most likely be finalized by the third week of November 2023.

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photos by K. Napala via H.J. Roca with a report from cbm/CIO