TACLOBAN CITY—Samar’s capital, Catbalogan City, is hosting an international conference for the first time, and it is not leaving any stone unturned.
From hotel accommodation of visitors to planning activities and security details, everything is being attended to. “This is a great opportunity for Catbalogan City to host an international conference for the first time,” Catbalogan Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan said.
The event is the United Cities and Local Government (UCLG) Asia-Pacific Executive Bureau 2017, where some 100 foreign delegates from 19 countries are expected to attend, set from April 4 to 7. Most of the participants are local government executives and high government officials of participating countries.
The conference seeks to gather commitment of different sectors of participating countries through declarations, workable actions, policy proposals and sustainable programs in issues related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), new urban agenda, local economic development and sustainable development.
Tan said the conference will also solicit commitment of local governments (LGUs) and cities for the full implementation of Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction on local levels.
The participants will be coming from China, South Korea, Taiwan, New Zealand, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and the township island of Betio in Kiribati.
Tan said there are over 7,000 local government units (LGUs) from the 20 countries that are members of UCLG, representing more than half of the world’s population.
Catbalogan City became a member of this organization in 2015. In the Philippines its members include Quezon City and Makati City, which are among the most populous cities in the country.
Tan said it important for different LGUs government units to come together to discuss global issues, because they are in the forefront in addressing the problems and meeting the goals set under SDG.
“LGUs are the organizations that are in the grassroots in terms of addressing the problems of the people. There are many international agreements and declarations that we have to implement, not on the national scale, but on local scale, specifically those headed by LGUs, like the 17 goals under the SGD,” she said.
Tan believes hosting the conference will also give Catbalogan City an international mileage in terms of tourism, cultural and heritage preservation, and investment promotion.
“UCLG has helped a lot in Catbalogan. It did not only made Catbalogan known but it also helped us with the best practices adopted by other cities,” she said.
Tan said UCLG also facilitated referrals among its members on agencies and technical expertise in urban planning.
Catbalogan City Administrator Dennis Cosmod said member inputs they get from UCLG have helped shape the city’s annual investment plan and the comprehensive development plan. “We are learning from each other [cities]. If you look at our AIP and comprehensive development plan they are geared toward building a climate-resilient city.”
Cosmod said Catbalogan’s membership in UCLG has also helped them in sourcing funds for some of the important development projects. “It added credibility to the projects, making them easier to market to potential investors,” he said.
UCLG is the only local government organization recognized by the United Nations.
1 comment
She’s really the best Mayor Catbalogan ever had 😀