The Development Academy of the Philippines’ Graduate School of Public and Development Management – Institute of Productivity and Quality (DAP GSPDM-IPQ) launched the first batch of the Executive Management Development Course (EMDC) for the Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) last Saturday, 27 April 2013, at the Rizal Honor Hall. The first batch of students included postmasters, postal service officers and sections chiefs from the PHLPost Central Office of Mega Manila postal offices and representatives of Luzon Post Offices.

The program, an initiative of the PHLPost management under the leadership of Postmaster General (PMG) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ms. Josefina M. Dela Cruz, aims to equip the participants with relevant and practice-based competencies that are indispensable to effective and efficient management. Specifically, the course covers academic discussions and real-life application of business management and leadership techniques in the field of postal service and logistics management.

Present in the launching were DAP Senior Vice President (SVP) for Support Operations Bernardo Dizon; SVP and Dean of the DAP Graduate School Gloria Jumamil- Mercado; DAP GSPDM Associate Dean Dr. Corazon T. Lopez and DAP GSPDM Directors Rodney A. Jagolino (Institute of Public Management), Lalaine P. Cortez (Knowledge Resource Institute) and Jonas George S. Soriano (Institute of Productivity and Quality).

Also present were the guests from  PHLPost including Assistant PMG for Admin and Finance, Ms. Maura B. Regis; Deputy Assistant Director for the Assistant PMG for Support Operations Dir. Federico O. Frayna, and Human Resource Management Development Head Esther Cabigao.

The first batch of the EMDC for PHLPost will run from April 17 until July 13, 2013. It will be followed by the second and third batches for Visayas & Mindanao. The Learning Management team is composed of Bobby Jones Domdom, Lily Nangca, Astaire Bugayong and Engineer. Job Jacob A. Gonzales as  the Supervising Fellow.

DEVCOMNET members pose with Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Sonny B. Coloma during the Planning Workshop at the DAP Conference Center Tagytay City last April 18-19. Also present during the workshop were (seated from left to right) DFA Assistant Secretary Raul S. Hernandez, DOST Assistant Secretary Raymund Liboro, DTI Public Relations Office Director Thelma Dumpit-Murillo, Secretary Coloma, CHEd Policy, Planning, Research and Information Office Director Maria Teresita M. Semana, CSC Public Assistance and Information Office Director Luisa Agamata, PIA Program Management Division Director Emelyn Q. Libunao, and SSS Vice President for Public Affairs and Special Events Division Marissu G. Bugante.

Some 52 government information officers (GIOs) flocked to Tagaytay City for the Development Communication Coordinating Network (DEVCOMNET) Planning and Teambuilding Workshop last April 18-19 at the DAP Conference Center. The planning workshop aimed to update action plans to communicate development programs aligned with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) .

The two-day workshop, hosted by the Development Academy of the Philippines, intended to strengthen the platform for coordination and sharing of development programs among member-agencies and was steered  by Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Sonny B. Coloma, DEVCOMNET Lead Convener.  DEVCOMNET members were asked to draw up their respective agency and cluster action plans on the promotions and advocacy of the PDP and its accomplishments.

In line with the theme “Consensus Building towards Good Governance,” DAP President Antonio D. Kalaw, Jr., along with his senior officers– Vice Presidents Carlos A. Sayco Jr.  and Ermarie A. Mondejar — shared the  DAP’s programs and projects under public sector productivity that are supportive of the PNOy Administration’s PDP, including a presentation on  the Philippine Quality Awards as well as the long-term plan for improving  DAP’s conference facilities.

PCOO Secretary Coloma introduces the concept of Social Communication as an effective tool in the promotion of agencies and departments with the use of social media and a more developed website.

Likewise, Sec. Coloma underscored the need for GIOs to understand the changing media landscape, make the paradigm shift from traditional to social communications, gear up for extreme transparency and deliver message effectively.

At the planning the DEVCOMNET member-agencies were grouped according to the five cabinet clusters and elected the following focal persons:  CSC Dir. Maria Luisa S. Agamata (Good Governance and Anti-Corruption); CHED Dir. Maria Teresita M. Semana (Human Development and Poverty Reduction); DTI Dir. Thelma Dumpit-Murillo (Economic Development); DFA ASec. Raul       Hernandez (Security, Justice and Peace); DOST ASec. Raymund E. Liboro (Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation. Each cluster revisited ongoing effort to communicate development programs and segued to update action plan covering May to December 2013.

During the teambuilding activity, the participants were drawn to the awe-inspiring message of DAP Chairperson Cayetano W. Paderanga , Jr. on “transforming the Filipino vision to reality.”

The DEVCOMNET is an information exchange network of different information units from government line agencies and departments, and government-owned and controlled corporations aligning all communication efforts on the Philippine Development Plan for consistent messaging and to coordinate all development communication  activities across agencies.

DAP Board of Trustees Chairman Paderanga conveying ways on transforming the Filipino vision to reality.

The National Economic and Development Authority and the Philippine Information Agency of the PCOO worked together as co-secretariat of DEVCOMNET in coordinating with different agencies all development communication activities.

Promoting organic agriculture – The participants of the Asian Productivity Organization National Workshop on Organic Product Certification for Philippine Inspectors with (from left to right) DAP Center for Quality and Competitiveness (DAP-CQC) Program Director Monica D. Saliendres, DAP International Relations Vice President and APO Liaison Officer for the Philippines Carlos A. Sayco, Jr., guest facilitator Zejiang Zhou, representative of International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) to Asia, and DAP President Antonio D. Kalaw, Jr. Also present during the workshop were the members of the project teams from DA-BAFPS and DAP-CQC.

The Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), along with the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) and the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Product Standards (DA-BAFPS), conducted the APO National Workshop on Organic Product Certification for Philippine Inspectors for some 50 participants from 19 to 22 March 2013 at the Hotel Dominique in Tagaytay City.

The workshop, adapted from the APO training program on organic agriculture, aimed to equip participants with the technical specifications and appropriate competency levels in doing farm inspections as well as provide them and their partner institutions with the appropriate organic standards and certification programs.  It also intended to strengthen the implementation of third-party certification of local organic products by enhancing the capacity of the national inspectors and expanding the pool of qualified inspectors for the organic standards and certification process.

APO Secretary-General Ryuichiro Yamazaki, in a message read by DAP Vice President Carlos A. Sayco, Jr. to the participants,  underscored the importance of organic certification in protecting consumers and genuine organic producers from false claims and misleading product labeling.

According to him, “the global market for certified organic agrifood products is expanding fast resulting in greater opportunities for Asian producers and consumers who are increasingly concerned about the authenticity of the organic products they buy.” Thus, producers have to assure the public that their products were grown using organic methods.

Likewise, APO deputed expert Mr. Zejiang Zhou, representative of International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) to Asia, discussed international organic practices that can be adopted by local practitioners.

In 2010, the Philippine Government approved Republic Act 10068 or the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010.  RA 10068 stipulates that only products with third party certification are allowed in the market. It resulted in the increased demand for third-party organic certification from organic producers to enter the mainstream market.

In photo: (L-R) DAP-Graduate School of Public and Development Management (DAP-GSPDM) Dean Dr. Gloria Jumamil-Mercado; DAP President, Antonio D. Kalaw Jr.; LCP National President Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez; LCP Secretary-General Mayor Hernani A. Braganza; UP SURP Dean Dr. Mario R. Delos Reyes; and UP SURP Executive Director Dr. Primitivo Cal

The Development Academy of the Philippines, through the Graduate School of Public and Management   Development, the League of Cities of the Philippines, and the University of the Philippines School of Urban and Regional Planning sign the Memorandum of              Understanding on March 8, 2013 during the LCP’s 59^th General Assembly at the Manila Hotel.

The MOU among the three parties created the Cooperation Consortium for Cities (C3) which would promote urban and development planning and management in all the cities of the country.  The C3 will conduct a series of capacity building programs for city planners and other key technical staff; conduct  studies on various important planning themes such as on disaster risk reduction management, climate change adaptation, traffic and transport planning and management, strategic environmental assessment, among others; and present the results of the studies through conferences and other learning events. Other undertakings of the C3 involve development of guidebooks and other learning materials on best practices for urban development of cities.

In a short message delivered by President Antonio D. Kalaw Jr., he expressed excitement and delight in engaging “in the continuing improvement of our Philippine cities for the next three years and beyond. As the pioneer advocate and key architect of the Philippine Human Settlements Program in the early ’70 and ‘80s, the DAP remains committed to promote the healthy and secure conditions of Philippine urban communities by providing professional education and training to city managers and planning officials, as well as consultancy in knowledge management, institutional strengthening, and networking.”

President Kalaw also emphasized to the plenary that “our cities will continue to be our vanguards for national growth and development.”

Some 800 budget, finance and planning officers and staff from 191 national government agencies (NGAs) are expected to complete the training program on the Unified Account Code Structure (UACS) and Online Submission of Budget Proposals System (OSBPS) that is being implemented by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Commission on Audit (COA) and the Development Academy of the Philippines.

The two-day training, which will enable participants to understand and apply the UACS in preparing their 2014 budget proposals and to submit them on-line through the OSBPS, will be rolled out in several batches from  March 5-26, 2013.

The UACS provides departments/agencies with a common classification of accounts and codes for use in budgeting, accounting, cash management, auditing and financial reporting. It is also a standard codification for reporting appropriation, allotment obligation and disbursement of agencies, thus, it enhances the quality and timeliness of financial data, analysis and reporting.

This capacity-building program is a component of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Reform Program mandated under Executive Order 55 which aims to clarify, simplify, improve and harmonize the government’s financial management processes and information systems and is jointly implemented by the DBM, Department of Finance – Bureau of Treasury (DOF-BTr) and the COA.

The Academy was tapped to provide professional services in three components of the PFM namely, Change Management, Communication and Awareness Generation, and Capacity Building.

The Presidential Security Group (PSG), in celebration of its 27th founding anniversary, recognized                      individuals and institutions from the public and private sector for supporting the PSG and its advocacies last            04 March at the PSG Grandstand, Malacañang Park, Manila.

The Development Academy of the Philippines, one of the awardees, was cited for its support to the capacity-building of defense and security practitioners, particularly its commitment to provide continuing Higher Educational Program to the officers of the Presidential Security Group as part of its professional growth and career advancement.

In photo : Development Academy of the Philippines President Antonio D. Kalaw, Jr. (right) receives a plaque of recognition from His Excellency President Benigno S. Aquino III, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin (2nd from left) and PSG Commander Brigadier General Ramon Mateo Dizon (left).

“Good people in government are the bedrock of this administration,” Dr. Cayetano W. Paderanga, Chairman of the Board of trustees of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), said as he heralded the Public Management Development Program (PMDP) in his keynote speech during the Graduation Ceremony of the PMDP held at the DAP Conference Center in Tagaytay City last January 31, 2013.

This call for a good men and women in the Philippine bureaucracy was sounded before 78 senior and middle level government executives who comprise the first graduating classess of the PMDP, the National Government Career Executive Service Development Program, which is being implemented by DAP’s Center for Knowledge Management.

The PMDP, which is envisioned to be the equivalent of a Master’s degree in Business Administration in the public sector, is designed to produce transformative leaders and strategic managers in government. DAP President Antonio D. Kalaw Jr. shared that it took DAP “over a year of rigorous planning and consultation with veteran public servants and experts from the private sector and the academe” to develop the program.

Ms. Nieves Osorio, Chair of the Career Executive Service Board, in her   inspirational speech also lauded DAP’s innovative program, which she claims will ensure for the Philippine bureaucracy a continuous “pool of well-selected and development-oriented government               administrators.”

While Paderanga admits that the government continues “to be plagued by the ghosts of past mediocre public service,” he affirms  the Aquino administration promise of “inclusive growth is achievable  (and that) the role of public managers is pivotal” in  achieving it.

With the graduation of the 78 “best of the best,” Kalaw is optimistic that this new cadre of government leaders are rejoining their home agencies and offices “equipped with the right tools to take on challenges that have become technology-based, global, multi-faced, and multi-approached,” leaders who are better prepared to serve the public.

On February 1, 2013, a new batch of middle managers from various line and attached agencies was initiated into the PMDP. DAP continues to receive nominees from agencies for the 2^nd and 3^rd batches of the Senior Executives and Middle Classes.

The PMDP is overseen by a Steering Committee composed of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of Budget Management (DBM), the Department of Finance (DoF), the Civil Service Commission (CSC), and the Career Executive Service Board (CESB).

The government’s efforts to boost the country’s economy through a digitally empowered government that delivers systematic, innovative, transparent, and citizen-centered public services  kicked off at the first Plenary Conference of the Government-wide ICT Pre-Budget Strategic Planning Workshop under the Medium-Term ICT Harmonization Initiative (MITHI) last January 15-18 at the DBM Complex in Manila.

The four-day conference was attended by a total of about 1,200 participants – about 300 to 400 for each day of the conference – from national government agencies (NGAs), government-owned and/or controlled corporations (GOCCs), state universities and colleges (SUCs), and the constitutional fiscal autonomy groups (CFAG).  Coordinating the event were the three convenor-agencies, namely the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), with Secretariat and technical support from the National Computer Center (NCC), the Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC), and the Development Academy of the Philippines- Center for Knowledge Management (DAP-CKM).

At the workshop, participants were given an overview of the MITHI, the e-Government Master Plan (e-GMP), and the  iGovPhil Project.  ICT experts walked the participants through the Project Proposal Templates designed purposely for MITHI, and which the participants were expected to fill out and submit if they wished to have their ICT projects approved and budgeted for 2014 – 2016.