04 October 2005 – The Philippine Consulate General in Vancouver reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs the historic signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for Cooperation and Capacity Building between the League of Cities (LCP) and the League of Municipalities (LMP) of the Philippines, and their counterparts in Canada: the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM)

Acting Head of Post Raul Hernandez said the MOU was signed on 29 September 2005 during the 100th anniversary convention of the UBCM at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre  where about 2,000 mayors and other municipal officials were in attendance.

“This is the first partnership that the FCM and UBCM have ever forged in the 100 years of existence with a counterpart anywhere in the world,” Mr.  Hernandez said.

The MOU aims to intensify the partnership between the Philippine local government units and the Canadian municipalities to establish effective policy development and advocacy capacity in order to strengthen local governance in the Philippines.

Mayor Jerry Trenas of Iloilo City, National President, LCP and Mayor Ramon Guico Jr. of Binalonan, Pangasinan, National President, LMP signed on behalf of the Philippine local government units; while Mr. Michael Coleman, President of FCM, Mr. Aaron Dinwoodie, outgoing President of UBCM, and Mr. Marvin Hunt, incoming President of UBCM signed on behalf of the Canadian Municipalities.

The other members of the Philippine delegation who witnessed the signing were: Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento of Calbayog City, Secretary General, LCP Mayor Gerardo Calderon of Angono, Rizal,  Secretary General, LMP Mayor Estelita Aquino, President of Mayors Leaque, Tarlac Province Chapter Atty. Edward Buenaflor,  Executive Assistant and Head of LCP Policy Unit Ms. Lilian de Leon, Executive Director, LMP
 

During a dinner meeting organized and hosted by the Consulate General,  the Philippine delegation shared with representatives of the Filipino local media and some Filipino community leaders their enthusiasm about the Philippine-Canadian partnership and expressed hope that a strong and empowered local governance in the Philippines would bring stability, security and prosperity to the country.

Since 1994, FCM, through its Municipal Partnership Program (MPP), has coordinated several projects between the local government units in the Philippines and the Canadian municipalities.   In 2002, FCM started to work with the LCP and the LMP to formulate a program strategy for MPP in the Philippines, and to cooperate on policy development work, knowledge dissemination, and replication of models and pilots generated by the FCM supported local level municipal projects.

Recognizing that the establishment of effective policy development capacity is essential for strengthening local governance in the Philippines, the LCP, LMP, FCM and the Local Government Support Program, which is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), agreed in December 2004 to jointly develop a project to strengthen capacity for policy development and advocacy within the LCP and LMP. The project, named "Strengthening Capacity for Policy Development and Advocacy in the League of Cities and League of Municipalities of the Philippines", ultimately aims to improve the capabilities of local government units (LGUs) to deliver their mandated services to the community.

In order to help the LCP and LMP strengthen their policy development and advocacy capacity, FCM approached the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) to explore the feasibility of a partnership to provide technical assistance through exchange of staff, missions to the Philippines and internships in British Columbia.

The first mission from the Philippines came to Canada in March 2005 to learn about UBCM's policy development and advocacy practices. As a follow-up, a similar mission from UBCM traveled to the Philippines in July.  In August, a third mission from LCP and LMP visited British Columbia to participate in a study tour and to attend workshops with UBCM. The August meetings produced a draft MOU for Cooperation and Capacity Building between LCM, LMP and UBCM, FCM, which was approved by their respective membership assemblies for signing at the convention. END