The members of civil society organizations under the Local Government Integrity Circles (LoGIC) Network in Iloilo Province interfaced with tech specialists in a 1-day Training of Trainors on usage of online tools and platforms.
The Training of Trainors is part of the capacity development session, a project component which focused this time on skills transfer to CSOs and LGUs on usage of online tools and communication platforms to adapt to the new normal and to enrich the monitoring and evaluation engagement of CSOs with LGUs on Integrity Mechanisms.
The face-to-face activity was organized by the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion Center (LEDIP) of the Iloilo Provincial Government in coordination with member networks of the Iloilo Caucus of Development Non-Government Organizations, Inc. (Iloilo CODE-NGOs). It was held September 4, 2020 at Casa Real in Iloilo City.
Understanding Integrity Building for LGUs
The first part of the activity was a backgrounder of the LoGIC Project in the Philippines provided by Rhoda de los Santos, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung-LoGIC Project Monitoring and Evaluation Officer.
Via Zoom, De los Santos discussed the Integrity Building Process of LGUs and how CSOs can effectively examine the Integrity Mechanisms of an LGU through monitoring and evaluation work.
The LoGIC Network is implementing a 3-year project intended to develop a countrywide culture of integrity through formations of multi-sectoral Local Government Integrity Circles as a step to attain a culture of integrity among LGUs.
There are 30 LGU partners for this project in the Province of Iloilo.
Indulging with online tools and platforms
The training primarily offered a lecture and a step-by-step tutorial from the most basic, like creating an e-mail account, Facebook account and Facebook page, up to some technical stuff like how to use a pocket Wi-fi, setting up an Wi-fi router at home and in the office, and how to reset these devices when necessary.
The input was provided Ruel Benliro, Jr. and Roderick Lorenz Olivares of the Iloilo-based tech group Mulave Studios. Benliro is a UX designer and web developer while Olivares is the operations manager Mulave Studios.
The training also enabled the participants to appreciate the advantages and benefits of online money transfers or digital payments whose users have exponentially increased with the pandemic.
Justin Paul Yap of GCash gave a detailed tutorial on how the GCash application can be installed on one’s mobile phone, its security features, and the multiple ability of the app; such as, payment of bills, money transfers, loading for pre-paid cellular phones, among many.
Another online money transfer app, PayMaya was also shared by Paul Gonzaga, who is a co-founder of the Iloilo Wholesale Tindahan (IWT).
Gonzaga discussed the concept behind the development of IWT and how they applied the use of Facebook to simplify the value chain process so that the farm produce of growers and farmers will reach the hands of consumers during the period of an enhanced community quarantine.
He also discussed online or virtual meeting platforms, one of the most popular methods that involved almost anyone today as a result of limited physical or face-to-face interaction because of the pandemic.
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Gonzaga talked on the various meeting platforms like Zoom, Messenger Rooms, and Google Meet. He provided practical tips considering the various technical advantages and disadvantages of today’s popular platforms used for meetings, webinars and conferences.
Cascading the capacities to community CSOs
The capacities received by CSOs during the “Training of Trainors on Integrity Mechanisms M&E and Usage of Online Platforms” will be cascaded to community-based CSOs and project partner LGUs this September.
Clustered sessions will be organized at the municipal level as a way for community-based CSOs to gain familiarity on the online tools and applications and to enable them to smoothly transition from conventional face-to-face into online activities in the conduct of monitoring and evaluation of LGU Integrity Mechanisms.
The LoGIC Network is a co-funded project by the European Union and by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development Cooperation.
It is implemented in the Philippines by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Philippines together with the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), Centrist Democracy Political Institute (CDPI), League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), and League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP).