CITY STRATEGY AND GOVERNANCE: THE NAGA CITY MODEL

Source: http://www.naga.gov.ph/cityhall/nagagovernancemodel.html

The Philippines is widely recognized to be in the forefront of localization. This is pursuant

to the mandate of our present Constitution, which has embraced local autonomy and
decentralization as a development strategy.
Interestingly, the World Bank agrees with this direction. In its World Development Report, it
said localization and the new global economy could either revolutionize prospects for
economic and human development or lead to increased political chaos, strife and suffering.
Over the last 14 years, Naga City is proud to have made significant strides in this area, some
of them even before Congress enacted the Local Government Code of 1991 (LGC), the
enabling law for the localization policy. This paper presents our experience on strategic
planning and governance at the city level.

THE SETTING
A riverine city in southern Luzon, Naga is located in the
province of Camarines Sur, between 13 to 14 North
Latitude and 123 to 124 East Longitude. It is about
450 kms south of Manila and about 100 kms north of
Legazpi City, the government center of the Bicol region
one of the countrys 16 administrative regions.
As a city, Naga is one of the countrys oldest. Originally
called Ciudad de Nueva Caceres, it was one of the five
cities created by royal Spanish decree in the late 16th
century.
The Heart of Bicol, Naga has established itself as the
religious, educational and business center of Bicol.
Since the Spanish era, the city has served as seat of
the Archdiocese of Nueva Caceres which oversees the
Roman Catholic hierarchy of the whole region.
It is home to two of the countrys oldest collegesthe Holy Rosary Minor Seminary founded
in 1793 and Colegio de Sta. Isabel, the first normal school for women in the Orient, founded
in 1868.

WHAT IT IS NOT
Naga is not a big city. Of the 114 Philippine cities, it is the 63rd largest in terms of land area
and 53rd in terms of population. Its 84.48 square kilometer territory pales in comparison
with Davao and Puerto Princesa whose land area both exceed 2,000 square kilometers. Naga
has a population of only 137,000.
Naga is not a port city. It is landlocked. It does not have direct access to the sea and is,
therefore, at a disadvantage compared to other port cities such as Manila, Cebu, Davao,
Iloilo and General Santos.
Naga is not centrally-located. It is around 450 kilometers away from Manila and Cebu. As one
person who accessed our web page noted, Naga cannot even claim to be the center of Bicol
as it is not a regional government center. The citys distance from our two primary urban
centers puts Naga at a disadvantage business-wise. It is also a handicap in a highly capitalfocused government system.
Naga is, therefore, just a typical Philippine rural city one of those faceless, ordinary urban
centers dotting the countryside.

WHAT IT IS
These limitations notwithstanding, Naga has made a name for itself in the area of local
governance.
It is a recognized center of local innovations. Over the years, Naga has built a reputation for
being a model local government unit, and a center for innovations in local governance.
This is borne out by more than 40 national and international recognition accorded to Naga
by various award-giving bodies. Among these is the 1998 Dubai International Award for
having one of the Top 10 Best Practices worldwide.
In November 1999, it was cited by Asiaweek as one of four most improved cities in Asia in
recognition of its participative processes, strong democratic traditions and commitment to
excellence.

It is a livable city. Naga, likewise, is considered one of the Philippines most livable cities,
says Interface, the newsmagazine of the League of Cities of the Philippines.
It has a strong non-government sector. Another outstanding feature of Naga is the presence
of a strong non-government sector, in the form of civic, business and peoples organizations.
It took advantage of local autonomy. Finally, the state policy to promote local autonomy and
decentralization has helped Naga mainly because it has helped itself, crafting a number of
innovations that even antedated the 1991 Local Government Code.

THE CHALLENGES WE FACED

The Naga that we have today did not happen overnight; along the way, we had to overcome
formidable challenges that helped shape much of our development strategies.
When I ran for mayor in 1987, my campaign was anchored on a vision of transformation,
which was impelled by results of a situational analysis my core staff and I did. Whoever wins
had to contend with the following problems:
Economic. Economically, Naga was in bad shape.
o

Its distinction as Bicol's premier city was fast becoming eroded. A former first-class
city, Naga had been reduced to third-class by the Department of Finance. Its coffers
were empty, strained by overspending that left almost a P1-million deficit.

Its three-storey public marketconsidered in 1969 as Southeast Asia's biggestwas

in shambles and soon hit by a fire that ate up 1/3 of available space.

The central business district (CBD), its size unchanged for more than four decades,
was already overcrowded, shying potential investors away. Traffic volume, swollen by
countless buses and jeepneys which held terminal right inside the CBD, was already
unmanageable.

The local economy was sluggish and employment scarce. There was widespread
indifference and very little stakeholdership among the various sectors of society.
Business sector confidence was low. The narrow tax base remained narrowed to the
2,000 business establishments registered with the city government. As a result, tax
collection was poor.

Social. The governments tight financial position spawned a vicious cycle that impacted
negatively on service delivery.
o

Basic services, particularly for health and education, had been deteriorating.

Resources required to address the problems were not forthcoming.

Crime was on the rise.

Smut films and lewd shows proliferated.

Illegal gambling, a menace in the last five decades, was rampant unchecked by the
police and military and tolerated by the leadership.

The homeless urban poor population was growing in numbers, doubling to more than
20% of the citys household population from only a little over 10 in just a decade.

Combined, these socioeconomic problems led to the loss of faith and confidence of the
people in their local government.

NAGA GOVERNANCE MODEL

In overcoming the challenges described above, my administration was helped by a
participative visioning process that crystallized the aspirations of our people, in the process
helping build stakeholdership across society.

THE VISIONING PROCESS

Just as Naga was not built in a day, the local visioning
process did not come about overnight. It evolved over
time, building on individual and institutional management
capabilities enhanced by technical assistance from
international development agencies. Ultimately, it is the
product of our commitment to improve government as a
means of improving the city.
As it evolved, the local visioning process can now be
summarized in Nagas governance model.
At its simplest, sustainability is a quality that can been
associated with good urban governance. This type of
governance therefore can be represented by a triangle,
which is the most stable of all geometric shapes.

Three elements form the foundation of the Naga governance model:

o

Progressive development perspective

Functional Partnerships

People Participation

DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE
A development perspective is the philosophy that anchors all development efforts and seeks
to mainstream all sectors of society in accepting their role in local development. In the
model, it is at the apex of the triangle because it is a function of leadership which the local
administration must provide.
In Naga, we have embraced the concept of growth with equity as our core philosophy. This
seeks to promote economic development (growth) and to sustain the implementation of propoor (equity-building or social development) projects to, ultimately, build prosperity for the
community at large. We believe that growth and prosperity must be tempered by an
enlightened perception of the poor, whose upliftment is an end to governance.
Growth and equity-building can feed off each other. Economic growth provides the resources
and sustains the implementation of social development programs. Equity projects, on the
other hand, lead to a better quality of life, a better city, that ultimately, fuels further growth.
All of this is embodied in our current battlecryan maogmang lugar or a happy place.

FUNCTIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
The city has pursued a policy of continuing engagement in partnerships. These are vehicles
that enable the city to tap community resources for priority undertakings, in the process
multiplying its capacity and enabling it to overcome resource constraints that usually
hamper government.
The citys partnership mechanisms can be between the local government unit (LGU) and
other community groups or government agencies, or between the LGU and individuals. They
can be for growth programs or equity-building strategies. They may also be governmentinitiated or private sector/community-led.

PEOPLE PARTICIPATION
These are mechanisms that ensure inclusion of individuals and the community in
government decision-making. They promote long-term sustainability by generating broadbased stakeholdership and community ownership over local undertakings.
Given Nagas problems in 1988, the leadership believed that the extent of its success was
contingent on how the people responded to its initiatives. The response of various
constituenciesbe it the businessman, the market stallholder, the squatter, the farmer or
the regular householddepends on how receptive the administration was to their
participation in the decision making process. Instead of confining deliberation on local
government matters within a select group of elected officials, the leadership encouraged
and formalized mechanisms to enhance constituency participation.
While partnerships, for operational and practical reasons, more often than not occur
between institutions and organized groups, participatory mechanisms give all sectors of the
communityincluding the marginalized-- a voice in government. It mainstreams and
engages them in governance.
Naga treats all constituents as both partner and beneficiary. Nagas preeminent status today
is more of a geometric than arithmetic progression. What it is now is not only the sum total
of what its people has become; rather, it is the product of what its people have contributed
to development.

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES
Nagas policy of actively engaging in partnerships and encouraging participation in
governance, focused on a progressive development perspective, has led to several
innovations. Examples of the most significant accomplishments are:

PARTNERSHIPS IN GROWTH PROGRAMS

From 1988, the city has adopted several strategies to open up business opportunities and
decongest the old Central Business District (CBD). On an individual or group basis, the

business community has been an invaluable partner in, as well as a beneficiary of, these
efforts. Some of the most notable strategies are:

Urban Transport and Traffic Management Plan (UTTMP)

This was a strategy for expanding the CBD without infrastructure support but only through
the local governments authority to redirect and control growth using its police and
regulatory powers. After lengthy deliberations, especially with the private community, all bus
and jeepney terminals were relocated outside the CBD. These were operated by interested
private sector partners.
The pedestrian traffic created by the terminals perked up economic activities at the
peripheries of the CBD. The commercial area effectively expanded by a third. The strategy
also eased traffic flow within the CBD, restoring order, life and vitality to the citys prime
commercial hub.

Satellite/District Markets
Much of city life, over the past four (4) decades, has revolved around the CBD. At the heart
of the district is the Naga City Supermarket, once Asias largest. To disperse development to
other areas, the city government encouraged the operation of district or satellite markets.
District markets are generally owned and operated by local governments. Instead of using
government resources, however, the city decided to involve the private sector. As part of the
Naga Local Initiatives for Economic Activities and Partnerships (LEAPS) program,
businessmen were encouraged to construct and operate satellite markets in strategic areas
within the city, following a set of government requirements.
There are now five (5) privately-owned district markets, attracting commercial development
at their peripheries.

Panganiban Upgrading and Beautification Project

At no cost to the city government, this strategy created a new business corridor out of a
kilometer-long eyesorethe swampy Philippine National Railways (PNR) property along the
railtracks and Panganiban Drive which, from the east, serves as the main thoroughfare
leading to the CBD.
Utilizing its zoning authority and the promise of reasonable return to the owner, the PNR, the
city government leased and sub-leased the abandoned portion of the right-of-way. Interested
developers were required to conform to the citys site development plan which was
conceived in partnership with the private sector. Under a Build-Operate-Lease arrangement,
and with the national government and the business community as partners, a new
commercial-cum-beautification project came to life.

Central Business District-II

Another strategy for commercial district expansion, CBD-II is a 27-hectare area developed by
Ruby Shelter Builders and Development Corporation. Compared to the UTTMP and the
Panganiban Upgrading Project which moved growth to other areas at the periphery of the old
CBD, CBD-II is an effort to create another distinct commercial area. The UTTMP and the
Panganiban project are government-led partnerships. On the other hand, the CBD-II project
is an example of a partnership with the private sector at the helm.
CBD-II is a private development with the local government being tapped to provide the
growth stimulus. Using the learnings from the UTTMP, the city established an integrated bus
terminal on a lot donated by Ruby Shelter. The terminal is one of the anchors of CBD-II
development. City Hall is also constructing a sports complex on another donated lot.
Furthermore, it built some of the main arteries in the area. All of these projects were
approved by Nagueos in a local referendum.
The private sector and the local government are continuing to mutually benefit from this
project. The city was able to acquire land that it uses for public facilities. The private sector,
on the other hand, was able to expand commercial activities and use the facilities
constructed by the city as anchors for development.
Dubbed as Nagas transport exchange, CBD-II is now host to other facilities such as two
privately-owned integrated jeepney terminals servicing two-thirds of all inter-municipality
PUJs. Establishments supporting and catering to the market created by these facilities have
sprouted within the area. CBD-II has resulted in a 100% expansion of the commercial district.
It has been able to stabilize the previously exorbitant prices of commercial space in Naga.

Naga Southwest Development Project

This is a multi-billion property development project at the southwestern portion of Naga. The
development covers approximately 90 hectares. It was inaugurated early last year and is in
partnership with one of the countrys leading property development conglomerates. It will be

anchored on the construction of a new four-lane diversion highway that opens up the entire
area to future development. The private sector will shoulder the cost of road construction.
The city government, on the other hand, will take care of right-of-way problems.

PARTNERSHIPS IN EQUITY - BUILDING PROGRAMS

Equity programs are targeted at the poor to ensure that they benefit from the fruits of
development. They are service delivery mechanisms for fulfilling the promise of
development for all particularly the poorest sectors of society which every leadership
aspires to. Delivery of these services are generally, in partnership with non-government
organizations and the community. These include:

Urban Poor (Kaantabay sa Kauswagan)

Nagas multi-awarded urban poor program is one of the most successful of its kind in the
Philippines. Built around the concept of tripartism where government, private landowners
and urban poor associations work together in finding mutually acceptable solutions to
tenurial issues we have generated a number of innovative approaches to the perennial
problem of squatting and urban blight.
The program has already benefited 6,940 urban poor households, which represents 27
percent of the entire population of the city. This year, we are introducing a housing
component. Instead of just providing a relocation site, the program will provide relocated
families with a house and lot to settle in. This will be piloted at the CBD-II Resettlement area
and will cover 127 families. The United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) is working on
model houses.

Livelihood
Through Kaantabay sa Kauswagan, the city helps the poor acquire capital (land) over time.
Our livelihood program allows them to develop capability and build capital now. This
program seeks to augment the incomes of target clients defined as those households
whose average monthly income is below P 15,000.00. Among the program components are
micro-lending, training and marketing assistance.
The success of the program hinges on partnerships with cooperatives and peoples
organizations, business associations and government agencies.

Health, Nutrition and Emergency Assistance

The city has made significant strides in health, nutrition, and emergency assistance.
Partnerships have allowed us to implement a more holistic approach to these programs.
Nagas Population and Nutrition office is a Hall of Fame awardee, having received the
Philippine Nutrition Honor Award from 1998 to 2000. In 1999, we were able to reduce the
number of malnourished children to 6.9% of the total pre-school population. In 2001, this
further went down to 5.3%. For other cities, the pre-school children malnutrition rate stands
at 10 to 15%. This was made possible by our Nutri-Ataman and Nutri-Nanay initiatives.
Previously, these programs were only able to provide feeding for third degree malnourished
children and pregnant mothers. In partnership with the Rotary Club of Naga and the
provincial chapter of the Philippine Pediatric Society, we have been able to move to total
rehabilitation. The city continues to provide milk and food. But these are coupled with free
pre-natal check-up and medical consultation; and free vitamins and medicine provided by
our private sector partners.

Emergency Rescue Naga (ERN) is a showcase of a successful community resource

mobilization effort, combining the resources of the city government, other government
agencies and private sector institutions. ERN provides the following round-the-clock services:
o emergency rescue and transfer
o first aid
o ambulance services
o quick police response
o fire fighting, and
o disaster preparedness and control.
Within the city proper, ERN is able to respond to disasters and emergencies within three (3)
to five (5) minutes. For the farthest barangay, the maximum response time is 30 minutes.
Along with other private sector groups, the business community contributes volunteers,
personnel and equipment to the program.

Education
We have been able to introduce several educational interventions with the help of the
private sector. For instance, the Ayala Foundation recently inaugurated its Internet project in
Naga. This project provides Internet access for all public high schools within the city. The
Ayala Foundation shouldered equipment costs while the city government will assume

payment for schools connections with ISPs. This year, we started a program to transform
five (5) of our six (6) public high schools to specialized secondary schools. The areas of
specialization are information-technology, entrepreneurship and technical-vocational
education. The Naga City Science High School will introduce an IT-oriented curriculum; and
we will have WRI Computer College as a partner. The Filipino-Chinese Chamber continues to
build public school-buildings.
The barangay and concerned NGOs help us in running our Schools for Early Education and
Development, and the HELP Learning Centerdesigned for children with disabilities.

Environment
Cleaner air, cleaner river, cleaner city is our current environmental battlecry. Available
data from the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (ENRO) confirm significant
improvements in air and water quality, on top of a cleaner urban environment obtaining in
Naga. The air quality index for suspended particles readings during the same period for the
years 2000 and 2001 (76.91 ug/NCM and 74.72 ug/NCM respectively) showed results within
the range classified as Good (the highest rating). Comparative water quality readings taken
along the Naga River from 1999 to 2001 provided similar results.
The Ladies in Green and other community organizations are partners in our Salvar Salog
(Save the River) program. The Isarog Garden Society-- composed of local entrepreneurs and
hobbyists-- constructed, operates and maintains the Naga City Ecology Park, a five-hectare
enclave owned by the city government.

PARTICIPATORY MECHANISMS
As emphasized in our governance model, where we treat the various sectors in Naga as both
partner and beneficiary, partnership systems should be coupled with participatory
mechanisms that allow involvement in government decision-making. Partnerships feed off
participation as the latter builds ownership of local initiatives. It allows more project
partnerships to flourish as various sectors get into the act, so to speak.
Previously, our participatory mechanisms usually involved organizations and aggrupations in
government-initiated bodies. We have a current program to involve the ordinary Nagueo in
governance.

Naga City Peoples Council

The presence of a vibrant NGO-PO community is one of the reasons behind Nagas success.
Unlike other local government units which seem to have an institutional aversion to NGOs,
we tried hard to breathe life to the provisions of the 1991 Local Government Code promoting
participation by and partnerships with private and community-based organizations. Naga
was among the first LGUs to implement the Codes provisions on NGO accreditation. During
its first run in 1993, we accredited close to 80 organizations.
In 1997, we took the concept of NGO participation a step further through a landmark
legislation known as the Empowerment Ordinance of the City of Naga. A Naga City
Peoples Council (NCPC) composed of all accredited business, non-government and peoples
organizations within the city was established. This Council:
o

Appoints representatives to local special bodies;

Observes, votes and participates in the deliberation, conceptualization,

implementation and evaluation of programs, projects and activities of the city
government;

Proposes legislation, participates and votes at the committee level of the

Sangguniang Panlungsod; and

Acts as the peoples representative in the exercise of their constitutional rights to

information on matters of public concern and of access to official records and
documents.

By including representatives of the Peoples Council in local special bodies and all
Sanggunian committees, we are able to bring down to the community the issues faced by
and the development thrusts of the city. This opens up doors for initiatives where the
resources and expertise of the community and the private sector are put to use.

Other Participatory Mechanisms

Various groups and organizations are involved in other city policy-making bodies. The urban
poor is part of the Housing Board. NGOs and community organizations are active members
of the Integrated Livelihood Management Council (ILMC) which oversees our livelihood
program. 50% of the membership of the Naga City Investment Board (NCIB) which is tasked
with administering the Investment Incentives Code of the city comes from the private sector.
The same is true for the Naga City Tourism Council and the Environment Management
Council.

Under the auspices of city government-initiated consultative mechanisms dubbed as Naga

SPEED (which stands for Socialized Program for Empowerment and Economic Development),
the local administration regularly conducts dialogs and consultations with various sectors
both at the city and village levels, essentially mainstreaming them in local governance.
In setting up multi-level consultation mechanisms, Naga pioneered the holding of the first
and only citywide referendum in the Philippines on August 6, 1993. In the process, it
demonstrated that direct participation even at this scale works, especially in deciding
development issues with long-term impact on the city.

I-Governance
I-governance is the latest city mechanism to enhance citizen involvement in governance.
Through information openness, it seeks to improve transparency and open up wider avenues
for dialog, thus, sustaining the citys innovations.
The program has two componentsthe citys website and a Citizens Charter. The website is
complemented by the Ayala-funded Project ACCESS which makes available to all public high
schools information on the web. At the barangay level, the city and the different barangay
councils are endeavoring to establish cyber stations at the barangay halls. For the general
public, a Cyber Kiosk sa Centro is being set-up at the CBD. The Charter is a guidebook on
key city government services which complements the website by providing, in printed form,
information on procedures, response times and accountable persons. It is designed for
distribution at the household level.

INSIGHTS
Our experience has shown that partnership systems and mechanisms enable local initiatives
to access community resources (particularly the private sector), thereby augmenting the
citys resources.
The beauty of partnerships is that it allows involved parties to attain mutually beneficial
objectives even with minimum individual resources. Thus, partnerships multiply the local
governments internal capability, opening doors to opportunities that are otherwise beyond
our own resources to pursue and implement. In short, they enable a local authority to do
more with less.

OPERATING PRINCIPLES OF PARTNERSHIPS

In trying to forge functional partnerships, we have identified three operating principles:
1. Role definition. By properly defining and delineating roles of each partner within the
partnership, responsibilities and accountabilities are clarified, and clear, unambiguous rules
of engagement can be set. This prevents potential conflicts and other operational problems.
2. Resource complementation. A partnership is a venue for resource pooling, and more. It
should attain synergyensuring that the total is greater than the sum of its parts. A good
partner, therefore, must bring resources that others do not have into the partnership.
3. Specialization. This is predicated on marked inefficiencies that arise from the do-it-all
approach that spawned big governments and unwieldy bureaucracies. In such a situation,
the strategic response is to take the opposite direction and move towards ones core
competencies. Or specialize, to put it simply.

PARTNERSHIPS AND PARTICIPATION

Participatory mechanisms allow partnerships to flourish. Both are key components of our
governance model. Any partnership must always take the partners interests into account.
Participation allows these interests to surface. The resulting partnership systems are
stronger for parties understand what is at stake for them.
A limiting factor to participatory mechanisms, however, arises from their very nature. At the
operational and practical level, participation has to occur between institutions and organized
groups, resulting often to the exclusion of individuals and the community at large, reducing
them to a spectators role in governance processes.
There is a need for stronger participation at the level of individual citizens. Naga is currently
trying to address this need through its I-Governance Program.

CONCLUSION
Various studies show that Naga is now among the countrys fastest-growing economies with
an annual growth rate of 6.5%. This is a big jump over 1988. The city now has:
o

A lower unemployment rate of 5.2% compared to the national rate;

A per capita gross product which is 115% higher than the national average;

A family income that is comparable to other highly-urbanized areas, 126% higher

than the average family in Bicol, and 42% higher than the national average; and

A lower poverty incidence of 29% compared to the regions more than 50%.

What Naga is now is a result of a community effort. It is an outcome of a peoplesincluding

the marginalized-- resolve to get behind a common development vision, work together and
be involved in setting directions for the city.