Participation in Local Tourism Development (PH0057)

What is the problem the commitment will address?

Local Development Planning and Investment Programming encompasses Tourism Development Planning, which, in turn, covers the formulation of Agri/Eco Tourism programs (as the case may be). These functions are mandates of the Local Development Council (LDC), under which a Tourism Planning Committee is ideally created to help craft the Local Tourism Development Plan.

Based on a study published in the Philippine Journal of Public Administration,1 it is posted that the Local Government Code (LGC) has prescribed citizen participation at a limited level of inclusion in the platform of the LDC. The LGC, as well as the local government unit (LGU) performance measurements that the law has set for citizen participation, failed to clarify the roles and capacities needed by community-based civil society groups for more meaningful participation in the LDCs.

Even with reforms in place, there is still an apparent need to strengthen policy support and expand the space for genuine citizen’s engagement within the context of development planning and investment programming, particularly for the tourism sector.

What is the commitment?

The DOT, jointly with the DILG and DBM, commit to review and harmonize existing guidelines, and issue an updated Joint Memorandum Circular, which shall: (1) clarify the roles of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) The DOT, jointly with the DILG and DBM, commit to review and harmonize existing guidelines, and issue an updated Joint Memorandum Circular, which shall: (1) clarify the roles of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

The commitment shall provide policy support for more inclusive local tourism development planning and investment programming, within the context of the LDC, by:
1. Delineating the roles of CSOs in the entire local tourism development planning and investment programming – from formulation of the local tourism development plan to its integration in the duly approved local development plans and investment programs; and
2. Providing the mechanisms by which CSOs can meaningfully participate in designing and prioritizing programs geared towards sustainable tourism development – going beyond mere representation in the local planning bodies but gaining and exercising both voice and vote, where appropriate, in the entire process

See Action Plan for milestone activities

1B. Local Government Transparency in the Tourism Industry

"The DOT, jointly with the DILG and DBM, commit to review and harmonize existing guidelines, and issue an updated Joint Memorandum Circular, which shall: (1) clarify the roles of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the entire planning-investment programming continuum, and (2) provide the mechanisms for meaningful participation, particularly in local tourism development."

Main Objective

"The commitment shall provide policy support for more inclusive local tourism development planning and investment programming, within the context of the LDC, by:

1. Delineating the roles of CSOs in the entire local tourism development planning and investment programming – from formulation of the local tourism development plan to its integration in the duly approved local development plans and investment programs; and
2. Providing the mechanisms by which CSOs can meaningfully participate in designing and prioritizing programs geared towards sustainable tourism development – going beyond mere representation in the local planning bodies but gaining and exercising both voice and vote, where appropriate, in the entire process."

Milestones

1. Issuance of Update Joint Memorandum Circular: (1) clarifying the roles of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the entire planning-investment programming continuum; and (2) providing the mechanisms for meaningful citizen participation, particularly in local tourism development.
2. Conduct of capacity-building activities to local government units, and non-government stakeholders with regard to the policy issuance on CSO participation and local tourism development planning.
3. Monitoring and reporting on the status of policy enforcement.
4. Ensure representation of relevant sectors in OGP commitment activities.
5. Development/Formulation of Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.

Editorial Note: For the complete text of this commitment, along with the updated version submitted in the revised action plan, please see the Philippine action plan at https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/philippines-action-plan-2019-2022/.

Commitment analysis

This commitment aims at strengthening CSO participation in local tourism development. To do this, the Department of Tourism will review, harmonize, and update the guidelines that govern how CSOs can contribute to the planning, investment, and programming of local tourism development. Through this commitment, the government hopes to facilitate application of the 2016–2022 National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) ^[15] and the 2013–2022 National Ecotourism Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP) ^[16] to the local level.

By virtue of Republic Act (RA) No. 7160 (the “Local Government Code”), local government units (LGUs) are responsible for providing basic services and facilities, including tourism development and promotion, tourism facilities, and other tourist attractions. ^[17] The RA also requires LGUs to convene local development councils (LDCs) at the provincial, city, and municipal level to form socioeconomic development plans and policies, public investment programs, and local investment incentives. LDCs can influence local development and tourism as private sector and nongovernmental organizations operate in the locality represented in the LDCs. ^[18] However, the LDCs rely mainly on administrative and process-based provisions, without other policy provisions to promote their effectiveness.

CSOs have also faced some hurdles in meaningfully contributing to local development or sectoral planning. Pertinent issues include LGUs’ limited technical capacity and human resources as well as CSOs’ limited technical and political capacities. ^[19] Through the capacity-building activities of this commitment, CSOs can improve their ability to engage local government, particularly regarding local tourism development.

This commitment is relevant to the OGP value of civic participation. The inclusion of local tourism development in priority areas for civil society participation will expand local community organizations’ ability to influence decision-making and programming. By localizing the implementation of the NTDP and the NESAP, plans for local tourism growth and development can be more attuned to affected localities and more effectively contribute to generating livelihoods that the communities have identified through their LDC. By using civil society representation in LDCs, the commitment has significant potential for mobilizing local CSOs to take part in local tourism planning and development. The issuance of the Joint Memorandum Circular will not only help clarify roles and responsibilities that CSOs can hold, but more importantly, will minimize the lack of guidance on how LDCs can operate for the benefit of local governments and the communities. By building local CSOs’ capacities, non-traditional stakeholders in the tourism sector will be better equipped to engage in local development planning.

Next Steps

Going forward, stakeholders could consider:

• Conducting roundtables with LGUs and CSOs to identify capacity-building priorities and tailor capacity-building activities;
• Involving the local school board (LSB) of each locality in monitoring the governance of local tourism along with the LDCs; and
• Introducing the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) award for active public participation in local tourism development as an incentive.

Additionally, the DILG has included steps to strengthen LDCs through commitment 1A, which is a strategy for meaningful participation in local decision-making and monitoring across different sectors; DILG could also benefit the implementation of this commitment simultaneously.

Commitment 1B. Local Government Transparency in the Tourism Industry

Verifiable: Yes

Does it have an open government lens?

Yes

Potential for results: Moderate

● Completion: Limited

● Did it open government? No early results to report yet

This commitment made progress on only one of its milestones. As of October 2022, the latest draft of a Joint Memorandum Circular of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government was undergoing a department-level review. This circular will encourage local government units to involve a wider range of civil society organizations (CSOs) in local tourism development planning and local tourism councils—particularly those representing marginalized populations. Its guidelines will not be binding for local government units. Implementation of the remainder of the commitment was hampered by a prolonged revision process for the circular, DOT personnel turnover, limited consultation with CSOs, and the need for re-approval of this project by the newly appointed secretary of tourism. Moving forward, the DOT notes that the pending local tourism governance provisions of the new National Tourism Development Plan could fast-track adoption of the Joint Memorandum Circular, [50] and the Mandanas-Garcia ruling will provide local government units with a bigger role in local development and basic services financing. [51]