For the past two years, these offices fell short of their target. I guess you need to understand that we are partly to blame for the tax delinquencies of our taxpayers. It is mainly because we do not really exhaust all our efforts, all the means to collect whatever amount due to the government.

As offices tasked to take charge of the tax collection of the LGU, it is your duty to constantly remind our taxpayers of their obligations to the city government. After all, we have proven to them how well we managed every centavo they have contributed to the coffers of the city government in the form of taxes.

To assist you in fulfilling your promise, I will be constantly monitoring your activities. So you have to work doubly hard. You need to get out of your respective offices and do what you are supposed to do in the field so that we can fulfill all our obligations not just to our creditors but most especially to our constituents who expect so much from us.

I also would like to take this opportunity to talk about the developments in the city. As far as I am concerned, there are only two kinds of LCEs’: one who is just content with what is going on in his locality; and the one who yearns for progress and development. I have always been transparent in my endeavors for progress and development in Tagum for the benefit of the greater majority of our constituents.

One can truly say that development has finally made its mark in our city, especially, in terms of infrastructure development. But as what I have always been saying, this is just a beginning. Tagum has so much resources waiting to be tapped by its people. This early, we have to lay down the necessary infrastructure foundation because I believe that it is a necessary preparation to sustain development.

That is mainly the reason why we availed of the financial assistance from Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) - for our infrastructure program to be successful, and for our developmental efforts to gain momentum. By doing so, we can leave a lasting legacy to the coming generations of Tagumeños.

In view of these realities, local government administration at all levels (i,e., province, city, municipality, barangay) requires appropriate assistance and interventions to help local officials improve the performance of their mandated duties and responsibilities for which they are accountable to their respective constituents. It is in this context, that the DILG, through which the President delegates the exercise of general supervision of local governments, must assist local authorities in order to respond much more effectively in addressing the needs and aspirations of their communities.

The constitutional provision as stated in Article X of the Constitution of the Philippines, together with Republic Acts 6975 and 7160 and Administrative Order No. 267, are the legal bases of the Department.

The department’s mandate is to promote peace and order, ensure public safety and further strengthen local government capability aimed towards the effective delivery of basic services to the citizenry. Its vision is to achieve peaceful, self-reliant and progressive communities nationwide. Its mission is to promote peace and order, ensure public safety, and strengthen capability of local government units through active people participation and a professionalized corps of civil servants within a just social order.

DILG has the following key result areas:

1. KRA I – Peace and Order refers to the promotion of peace and order thru the enforcement of laws, prevention of crimes, and assistance in the prosecution of crimes.

2. KRA II – Public Safety refers to the efforts for the enhancement of public safety by preventing jail breaks and fire incidents, rehabilitation of inmates, disaster preparedness, and the LGU public safety program.

3. KRA III – LGU capability, accountability and effectiveness refers to efforts in pursuit of a strong technical, administrative and financial capability of LGUs.

4. KRA IV - Community empowerment or people’s participation refers to institutionalizing people empowerment through the participation of NGOs, POs, and PS in local governance. Under this area is institution-building for effective governance including functionality of local special bodies, DILG-League Partnership and other councils and associations; DILG’s support to the food security program and poverty alleviation; and inter-agency collaboration.

5. KRA V – Organizational effectiveness refers to enchancing organizational effectiveness of the office through comprehensive resource development program.

In Tagum City, Director Amando M. Zablan heads the local DILG Office. LGOO Jackielyn E. Esdrelon assists him in the technical services both in the Local Government Development Division and Local Government Supervision Division. Personnel from the LGU are also assigned in the office particularly in barangay/community affairs, youth affairs and administrative affairs.

The office serves as a secretariat to the City Peace and Order Council (CPOC), People’s Law Enforcement Board (PLEB) and the Tagum City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (TCDAC). It also gives technical assistance to the ABC and SK and oversees monitors the implementation of programs and projects of the LGU.

The Fisheries Resource Management Project or FRMP addresses these two critical and interconnected issues of fisheries resource depletion and persistent poverty among municipal fisherfolk.

The Project will focus on reversing the trend of fisheries resource depletion by controlling illegal fishing and overfishing. In particular, the control of destructive fishing, although affecting the livelihood of those who conduct the illegal activities, will immediately reduce damage to fish stock and fish habitats, check the trend of fisheries resource depletion, and protect the basic livelihood of the majority of poor fisherfolks. The Project will adopt a gradual approach that will (1) reduce the level of user competition by restricting new entrants to municipal fisheries through fishing licensing; (2) reduce fisherfolk’s reliance on fishing by promoting income diversification, which may reduce their fishing time and change them from full-time to part-time fisherfolk; and (3) through the promotion of mariculture and the development of other commercial enterprises in the long term, facilitate the gradual exit from fishery of some fisherfolk, although slowly and in limited numbers.

The project represents the Government’s efforts to shift the sector focus from increasing capture fisheries production to fisheries resource protection, conservation, and sustainable management. It reflects the demand of municipal fisherfolk for public assistance to protect their basic livelihood, and the national and local governments’ concern over poverty and environmental degradation.

The Project is based on the foundation laid down by the Fisheries Sector Program (FSP) as well as various programs initiated by local communities and local government units (LGUs) on fisheries resource management and income diversification. Incorporating lessons learned from these projects, the Project will strengthen fisheries resource management on one hand, and promote income diversification for municipal fisherfolks on the other. These tasks make it necessary to strengthen the capacity of government agencies in charge of fisheries management, especially LGUs, which have been granted authority in municipal fisheries management, but lack technical and managerial capabilities.

Although the sector issues today are basically the same as they were six years ago when the FSP was formulated, the environment for Project implementation has been substantially improved, because (1) the FSP initiatives to keep fishing efforts within sustainable yield levels have been adopted as Government policies; (2) the concept of coastal resources management or CRM has been widely accepted; (3) institutions for CRM have been established at local levels; and (4) experiences on CRM, law enforcement, and income diversification have been accumulated by fisherfolk, LGUs, and the Government.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is the Executing Agency. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and each DA-Regional Office (DA-RO) concerned are responsible for Project implementation at the national and regional levels, respectively. A Project Management Office (PMO) under BFAR is responsible for day-to-day Project implementation, coordination with various agencies, and liaison with funding agencies.

In Tagum City, the implementation of the FRMP is governed by a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to clearly define the working relationships, and the repective responsibilities of the parties under the program..

The long-term goals of the Project are to achieve sustainable development of the fisheries sector, and reduce poverty among municipal fisherfolk. The primary objective of the program, though, is to reverse the trend of fisheries resource depletion in municipal waters.

The FRMP will be implemented in six years, from 1998-2003 and will cover about 100 municipalities in 18 bays, 11 of which were formerly covered under the FSP: Calauag Bay, San Miguel Bay, Tayabas Bay, Ragay Gulf, Lagonoy Gulf, Sorsogon Bay, Carigara Bay, San Pedro Bay, Ormoc Bay, Sogod Bay, Panguil Bay; and seven new bays: Honda Bay, Puerto Princesa Bay, Davao Gulf, Lingayen Gulf, Gingoog Bay, Butuan Bay and Sapian Bay.