One of my tasks as the sangguniang
secretary is to help assist civil society organizations (CSOs) in their
application for LGU accreditation being granted by the sangguniang bayan. This
was the reason why I readily accepted the designation to act as CSO Help Desk
Officer, meaning, I have been doing already a part of the responsibilities of
the said designation. Of course, I am not foreign to the workings of a CSO
because I used to get involved with some NGOs and people’s organization in my
younger years.
To further equipped the
CSO Help Desk Officers, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) organized the 2025
CSO Desk Officer PAGBA-ID Seminar on June 24–26, 2025, at Hotel Alejandro,
Tacloban City with the theme “Strengthening Skills for Effective Engagement.” I
participated actively in the discussions and workshops which centered on the roles
and responsibilities of the desk officer. When the speaker asked me to recite
as to what is the role of a desk officer. I answered that the desk officer is
the direct link of the civil society organization to the local government and
they are an enabler of people’s participation and empowerment. I ended by
saying that a CSO is the first person who believes in the power of the people to
effect change and reform in the government, social transformation and
sustainable development. For my answer, I got my first prize of a small pack of
chocolate. For the next two days, I got a total four rewards in the form of chocolate
for getting correct answers during recitations. I also won a chocolate for
being the fastest to get the perfect answers in the digital pretest. I missed being
in this kind of setting since I left my previous job in the local planning and
development office.
One best
activity during the seminar is what they call Knowledge Café where participants
were formed in a group and spent some ten minutes in each table to have a face-to-face
clarificatory discussion with a seminar speaker. After the allotted minutes, the
group moves from one table to next until they all have an audience with all the
speakers. This was new strategy for me and I think it works.
I love listening
to all the talks which runs from the importance of participatory governance,
the accreditation process, organizing the Local People’s Council, establishing
safe spaces and effective communication. I also listened and was impressed by
the sharing of best practices of some local government units in the region.
During the
solidarity night, my partner and I won the group contest for best performance,
be it singing or dancing. My partner who came from Biliran and I sang the duet
of Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang. It was only for fun but I was happy because it was my
first to sing in a hotel with a quite larger audience coming from different
parts of the region. Our prize was a box of crackers which my group mates have
eaten the rest of the night.
For these
little moments of listening to great topics and the fun along with it, I consider
it as memorable three days of my life.
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