Victorias City is among the seven new cities in the Philippines to be part of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Cities for Enhanced Governance and Engagement (CHANGE) Project.
Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez signed the memorandum of understanding between the Victorias LGU and USAID for the CHANGE Project at the City Resort Pavilion on Tuesday, March 12.
“Through the ‘CHANGE’ Project, we are not just enhancing our local governance ecosystem, we are reaffirming our commitment to the values of democratic governance,” Benitez said.
The partnership with USAID for the project is a significant step in the realization of the city’s vision to become a beacon of inclusive development and a model for effective and people-centered governance, he said.
The goal of the CHANGE Project is to support strengthened democratic governance in the Philippines by making local governance more responsive, a press release from Victorias City said.
The project hopes to strengthen the enabling environment for decentralization, enhance service delivery capacity, legitimacy, transparency, and accountability of participating local governments, and empower citizens by increasing their participation in and oversight of governance processes in ways that the government both approves and support, it added.
USAID Philippines Office of Economic Development and Governance Director, Jeffery Goebel, said the CHANGE Project will augment responsive governance through increased citizen engagement and will enable an improved public service delivery.
Vice Mayor Abelardo Bantug III and Senior Democracy, Rights, and Governance Specialist Gerardo Porta of the USAID Philippines Office of Economic Development and Governance witnessed the MOU signing.*