A message from Alfredo Coro II, Mayor of Del Carmen, Philippines
Dear partners in development and fellow public servants,
I remember waking up early to hear the stories of Mang Jerry, a fisher along the coast facing the Pacific. I remember the long, hot day with Aling Tina, wife of a farmer, checking on their crops and water. I remember the storm that devastated the livelihood and homes of the families of our fishers and farmers, of Mang Jerry and Aling Tina – how they worked all their lives only to lose everything in an instant. I will always remember these stories as reminders of the purpose of local governance: designing resilient, innovative and equitable public services for all.
There are many more of us in sub-national and local governments that share the same experience, especially with our poor and vulnerable constituents. In the last few years, new threats from climate change, human conflict, global trade, and technological advancement increased the exposure of marginalized communities to loss of household income and reduced access to government services. These experiences lead to a possible diminution of public trust in public leadership: Are you equitable and fair in leading, managing and governing in such uncertain, ambiguous and complex civic scenarios?
Over the last 15 years of local public leadership, we have tried to design public services to ensure equitable growth and sustainable development – an example of which is our local policy on Community Savings Groups. Our mostly women-led savings groups have shown discipline in their ability to address financial difficulties through collective savings and investment. Now with more than 60 savings groups with thousands of members operating in various villages of the municipality, we have seen increased ownership of social protection mechanisms that reduce risks similar to those that have burdened the families of Mang Jerry and Aling Tina. This public service innovation has been replicated in our cities in my country, in Southeast Asia, in Africa, the Pacific Islands and South America, generating similar stories of financial transformation for families.
We, in the local government of Del Carmen, realized that equity and fairness in local governance are not about trying to provide everything for our people, but developing platforms for our constituency to recognize their voice and discover their value through a shared vision and shared ownership of issues. Our call to our fellow local governments in ICLEI is to not find answers ourselves, but rather open our local governments to better collaboration with all sectors, allowing them to find their role in local governance: Co-creating solutions for a fairer and more equitable world, one group, one community at a time.
Yours in public service,
Alfredo Coro II
Mayor, Municipality of Del Carmen, Siargao Islands, Philippines
ICLEI Global Executive Committee – Biodiversity, Water and One Health Portfolio Holder
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