Just recently, the city government conduct several barangay development workshops in Tagbilaran's 15 barangays.

The Office of the City Vice-Mayor prepared a documentation of these workshops and we are reprinting here in part its executive summary.

"Local government units are mandated to map out clear directions, plans and activities to be able to respond to existing issues and concerns of its constituents. A good planning process directed to generate development initiatives is best hinged on participation from stakeholders.

The barangay development planning undertaking, participated in by the Barangay Officials along with representatives of the Barangay Development Council and facilitated by the City Planning and Development Office, some staff of the Vice-Mayor's Office, and representatives from the partner non-government organization, demonstrates synergy between the City Government of Tagbilaran and its barangays in treading a development course that bank on participatory planning and in shaping a future that reflects the aspirations of barangay constituents who are its direct beneficiaries.

The Comprehensive Barangay Development Plan (CBDP) of San Isidro underwent a critical planning process which took off with a barangay development planning workshop facilitated by the Holy Name University Center for Local Governance, one of the city government's partner-NGOs.

The relationship between barangay governance and the five sectors of development provided a basic framework in viewing the current reality pervading in the barangay. With the aid of data generated from the Local Poverty Reduction Action Planning (LPRAP) survey results, the current reality dialogue in turn served as a skeletal guide in crafting and revisiting the barangay's vision and mission as well as the strategic directions set out in the three-year priority projects by sector.

Culled out from the three-year targets are the barangay's 2006 Action Plan and 2006 Annual Investment Plan. The initial plans formulated during the workshop were then validated and finalized through another round of barangay consultation with the barangay council.

The activity was a review of the one-year Barangay Action Plan, Annual Investment Plan and the three-year development targets of the barangay by identifying the strategic needs and priorities in consonance with the five areas of governance.

In the end, the whole exercise underlines the importance of engendering participation in the barangay planning process. Such participatory planning process shall form part of the norm in the planning activities in the proceeding years.

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