I just attended a validation workshop of a study on decentralization in two municipalities and one province in Eastern Visayas.

The results of a survey and focused group discussions were presented for comments by participants from provincial and municipal governments.

A lot of issues were raised in the course of the study. These centered on (a) the need for regional, provincial and municipal offices to coordinate their activities and (b) inadequate resources, in terms of personnel, facilities and funds.

This part of the study, to me, is the easy part. The second stage will determine how clients were affected by the services delivered by these agencies and local government units. This will be the more difficult part but at the same time the more useful.

The degree to which clients are satisfied or dissatisfied will be very interesting.

Even at this stage, I would say that rather than be defensive about the possible negative feedback, government personnel should take such comments as challenges for improvement.

It is safe to predict that, indeed, there will be gaps and deficiencies in delivering services such as those on health, agriculture and environment (the coverage of the study being done by a group from UP Tacloban and funded by the German technical Cooperation Agency).

The important thing is to be able to respond adequately particularly in the light of the fresh mandate given in the recent elections to Local Chief Executives.

Decentralization is an opportunity for Local Government Units (LGUs) to be able to serve their constituents better.

Are they successful in doing so as a result of decentralization?

I have to say, I’d cross my fingers since experiences and performances differ from LGU to LGU.

The study will give us the answers soon, around September.

I’ll keep you informed about the findings.