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The sanggunian must get citizens and civil society organizations to actively
participate in legislative activities because:
The private sector and CSOs have access to resources research based
information, time, staff and funds that may be useful to policymaking.
It is the right of citizens to be heard.
It is the right of citizens to be consulted by their elected officials on matters
of public interest.
It is the right of citizens to organize themselves into groups to participate in
local governance.
CSOs have the advantage of having a network and the resources to assist
in the monitoring of the sectors, e.g. workers, youth, etc.
Getting groups involved in legislation can benefit the sanggunian because:
CSOs especially peoples organizations have direct links with the grassroots
because of the services they provide to the community, e.g. health,
education, among others.
It is the responsibility of the sanggunian to make citizens aware of the mechanisms
and venues which allows them to participate in legislative decision-making.
These include:
1. Committee meetings--Unless declared as closed-door executive meetings,
committee meetings are generally open to the public. They can be maximized by
establishing links with concerned sectors and involving them in committee
deliberations on a more regular basis.
2. Committee hearings--Committee hearings are also called public hearings because
their purpose is to consult stakeholders and experts in the LGU on proposed
ordinances or on matters relevant to legislation. These legislative matters should
not be limited to consideration of tax measures but include all other measures that
may affect the LGU. The process can be further maximized by the sanggunian by
giving the concerned sectors or stakeholders timely information and advice prior to
the holding of committee hearings, e.g. committee hearing schedule, agenda, and
advice to prepare presentation materials or position papers.
3. Accreditation While accreditation of NGOs is not a requirement for participation in
legislative activities, accreditation is a good opportunity for the sanggunian to
know who does what in the NGO community. This will make it easier for the
sanggunian to identify groups they can tap for their expertise in research, writing, or
simply for information. This mechanism can be further improved by adopting rules
and procedures to encourage CSOs to get accreditation and to provide for a system
of continuing accreditation of CSOs. However, the lack of accreditation should not
be an obstacle for the sanggunian to tap CSOs from participating in sanggunian
activities.
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