In August 13, 2010 the LVGP plenary approved the holding of a series of capability building courses for Vice Governors leading to a diploma in Local Governance and Management through the able direction of the Development Academy of the Philippines. The program keenly supported by veteran statesman Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile through the office of Cagayan 1st District Representative Jack Enrile was formally launched through the signing of a memorandum of Agreement between the DAP and LVGP leadership on September 14, 2011 at the DAP Training Center in Tagaytay City and the start of the holding of the regular academic classes customized for Vice Governors.

The first academic run in Tagaytay showcased expert lecturers on development planning, economics and local governance which further strengthened the management skills of Vice Governors. To give the members a clear direction of the academic program, Dean Gloria Jumamil-Mercado of the DAP graduate school gave an overview of the required course modules and their corresponding academic units to complete the diploma course and the possibility of further completing a masters course in public management major in local
governance and development.

First lecturer was Dr. Benjamin Diokno, former secretary of Budget and Management who discussed the important lessons f rom ten year s of decentralization in the country focusing his discussion more extensively on local fiscal administration and management. The basics on the budget preparation and deliberation as well as the inherent taxing and proprietary powers of local government units were revisited and he delved on the limitations of the taxing powers of LGU's and the strategies for raising revenue for local governments to finance projects and increase productivity. Dr. Diokno also touched on the current state of LGU revenue administration which starts with understanding the legal mandate, tax bases, organization size, human resources, compliance records, employee morale and taxpayers perception of the integrity of the tax systems. The discussion was important to provide a basis for a diagnostic exercise and help identify critical weaknesses of the present local revenue administration.

Meanwhile, Dir. Zelda Zosa-Villalon, Executive Director of the committee on rules of the House of Representatives, engaged the class in a lively and interesting review of the rules, norms and customs governing the conduct of business of deliberative assemblies and the abc's of the parliamentary procedure.

A very insightful module of the planning process was given by a luminary in the field of economic and development planning Dr. Sixto K. Roxas who presented the ecosystems-based communitycentered sustainable development organization and management or ECSOM as a local development program towards sustainable communities in the country and sustainable development strategies and his model community of Ibalon. His discussion
presented the class with alternative solutions to the development dilemma of many provinces and cities in the country. Dr. Roxas, despite his age, tirelessly discussed synchronizing the LGU SLED planning and the medium term Philippine development and investment program which presented LGU's a challenge to adopt a participatory planning process in
synch with the national government and the opportunity to adopt a sustainable local economic
development model as an approach.

To balance the two-day discussions from the technical aspects of governance towards the person who actually dispenses the mandate of governance, Dr. Josie B. Banaglorioso, a renowned clinical psychologist spoke on self mastery to let the class gain a deeper understanding of their individual strengths, motivations, values, limitations, work styles and issues and to make them appreciate the usefulness of their personal preferences as well as to identify strategies to harness these values to become effective leaders. Closing the two-day lectures Professor Gabriel Ma. J. Lopez's, educator-servant leader, gave a discerning
lecture on the different leadership models and how elected officials can fully actualize to be true servantleaders whose leadership is anchored on sound value system and a benevolent desire to lead.

The second module on Public Governance and Management, a continuation of the module on the foundations in local governance and development, Professor Jonas George S. Soriano, Director of the Institute of Productivity and Quality of the Graduate School of Public and Development Management, DAP started with a review of the 1st module and a leveling
off to enhance the expectations of the participants and to further customize the course. Second part was a discussion and workshop on the elements and foundations of local governance and its definitions to help the students identify elements of governance that will be easy or hard to implement.

Dr. Antonia Corinthia Crisanta Naz, Faculty of the University of the Philippines, National College of Public Administration and Governance shared concepts on leadership ethics and facilitated a group exercise which tackled the Masada case to allow the class to ponder on Craig Johnson's statement on ethics being the heart of leadership.

Meanwhile, Dr. Adelfo V. Briones, Director, Center for Community Services of Ateneo School of Government introduced concepts and provided lessons on Social Accountability and Sustainable Development focusing on three major tenets of transparency, social accountability and participation towards improving governance among the different local governments in the country.

Aptly showcasing a local initiative in innovative governance and transparency, Mr. Reynald Paul M. Imjada, Head of the Quezon City Information Technology Development Office discussed into detail the unified key systems implemented in his LGU through strengthened IT and ICT units. Mr. Imjada explained that the IT and ICT units centralized data gathering and data banking, unified the different departments in the city hall into one collaborative system and enabled them to work as a team in enhancing and streamlining citizen-government transactions and the delivery of services in Quezon City.

Ending the 2nd module, Professor Immanuel A. Magalit, Senior Technical Staff of the Graduate School of Public and Development Management prov ided an integration of the lessons learned on Public Management and Governance to blend in all the concepts that has been discussed on the two preparatory courses on local governance and development.

Keeping true to the LVGP strategy of showcasing the locale of the different members, the third academic run on Local Governance and Development was held in Barangay Malay, Province of Aklan. Also the 46th National Assembly of the LVGP, the gathering was
hosted by the national treasurer of the LVGP, Vice Governor Gabrielle “Billie” V. Calizo-Quimpo who provided a lively learning atmosphere for the entire delegation during the duration of the training.

The 3rd academic module on Local Development Planning is a major subject in the completion of the diploma course on LGD. Ms. Imee Caluen, DAP director of the Center for Governance started the third academic run by setting the discussion flow for the next two days and the major objectives that it intends to accomplish for the students.

No less than the Vice President for Operations of DAP, Ms. Magdalena L. Mendoza provided the opening salvo of the 3rd run through her discussion on governance and development perspectives to local development planning which looked thoroughly into
the various national and local development perspectives, governance principles and concepts, the actors and what each of them can do to improve governance to curb corruption. Prior to the lecture, Vice Governor Frisco “Popoy” San Juan of Rizal Province marked the highest score in a diagnostic exam on an assigned reading and was granted the option to be exempted from attending the lecture which he good naturedly declined.

Ms. Mendoza's discussion was followed by an overview of the different planning systems in the Philippines given by Ms. Julie Catherine Paran, EnP, manager of Earthquakes and Megacities Initiatives, Inc. and DAP consultant which provided the overview of the local planning system in the Philippines. Ms. Paran elucidated on the technical aspects of the planning process, its concepts and principles and the basic necessity of developing a plan towards achieving sustainable development in an LGU.

Second part of Ms. Paran's lecture was a thorough discussion on the fundamentals of the Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan. The lecture roused various questions from the class from the harmonization of national and local planning policies to the need of LGU's for up to date information from national agencies in the process of crafting a
comprehensive and sustainable provincial plan. Corollary to the discussion, the students were given an assignment to critique their own Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan and their suggestions to improve it.

The 1st part of the local development planning course focused more extensively on the theories and concepts in the planning process both at the national and local level. The second part gave substance to the theories by providing concrete examples of the local development planning process. Its main objectives were to make the students understand the major issues, emerging concerns and challenges confronting the local planning process as well as to
provide insights from actual experiences in the development, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation of local plans.

The Bohol Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan and its planning process was showcased by Atty. John Titus J. Vistal, Provincial Planning and Development Officer of the Province of Bohol. Atty. Vistal discussed on the major development issues and concerns in the process of implementing the Bohol PDPFP as well as the framework and highlights of the development priorities of the province. He discussed in detail the process undertaken in the completion of the PDPFP, its adoption, the various implementation concerns and
consequently the monitoring process, evaluation and the various challenges and lessons learned from crafting the Bohol Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan.

Meanwhile, Engr. Jesrel B. Mangubat, Provincial Planning and Development Officer of the Province of Bukidnon provided an overview of his province and discussed more extensively on the relationship of the province's development vision, goals and objectives. He also highlighted the major development thrust of the province and the process of crafting the PDPFP including its adoption, implementation, evaluation and learning.

Mr. Benjamin V. Cariño. Executive Director of UP Planades, provided the synthesis and insights of the two studies provided by Bohol and Bukidnon in the crafting and implementation of the Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan. He explained the planning function of the LGU's and its mandate as a basic premise. Based on a 2007 data, he also illustrated the different status of the CLUP, PDP, PDIP and PDPFP preparation. Mr. Cariño presented the critical realities of the weak impact of PDP on local
development most especially on the disparity between the necessity of merging the Annual
Investment Plan to the Provincial Development Plan, which leaves the former as a mere compliance document where the latter, a core of the political process.

First day lectures were capped off by an interesting panel discussion on the provincial executivelegislative agenda dubbed as ELA: the nexus of provincial executive and legislative functions. Panelists included Vice Governor Humerlito Dolor of Mindoro Oriental, Vice Governor Irma U. Ali of Lanao del Norte, Vice Governor Henry S. Oaminal of Misamis
Occidental and Vice Governor Ma. Mimietta S. Bagulaya of Leyte who provided helpful insights and articulated on the development of the ELA in their respective provinces. Meanwhile, Director Manuel Q. Gotis of the Bureau of Local Government Development of the DILG harmonized the discussion.

The second day of the 4th academic run brought the students to the operations Center of the Office of Civil Defense in Camp Aguinaldo for session 4 for an operations briefing on the mandates of the NDRRMC and a guided tour of the National Disaster Risk Management Center. Following the NDRRMC visit was a lecture on integrating climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in land use development planning given by Ms. Lorna Victoria,
Founding Board of Directors of the Center for Disaster Preparedness-Philippines at PHILVOCS in Diliman.

The briefing focused on the challenges, opportunities and issues in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction vis-à-vis current LGU practices of integrating both concepts in local planning followed by an operations briefing and tour of the PHILVOCS operations center by Ms. Ma. Lynn Paladio-Melosantos.

Topping the lectures for the second the day was on land use trends and scenarios delivered by the famed managing director and principal architect of Palafox and Associates, Arch. Felino Palafox, Jr.