Executive Summary

Effective local governance is a continuing challenge to local government units. It is

often a result of thorough and systematic planning and efficient and effective execution of
plans involving various stakeholders within a locality. Formulating the Executive-Legislative
Agenda is an attempt to incorporate the essential elements of good governance- which are
transparency, responsiveness, equity and inclusiveness, effectiveness and efficiency,
accountability and participation- in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of
policies, programs, projects and activities of LGUs. With these, the ELA embodies the
promotion of good governance as inseparable component of development at the local level.

ELA Policy Framework

Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code, mandates
LCEs of a province, city or municipality to:

 “present the program of government and propose policies for the

consideration of the Sanggunian …. at the opening of a regular session of the
Sanggunian” concerned, and

 “initiate and propose legislative measures to the Sanggunian ………. and as

often as may be deemed necessary, provide such information and data
needed or requested by said Sanggunian in the performance of its functions”
(Sections 444, 455 and 465).

Memorandum Circular No. 2010-141, dated December 8, 2010 issued by the

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) enjoining all Local Government
Units (LGUs) to craft their respective Executive-Legislative Agenda (ELA) that will guide our
Local Elective Officials in decision -making and implementation of their respective priorities
for the 30year term of the executive and legislative departments of the LGUs. In accordance
to Memorandum Circular No. 2019- 114, dated July 18, 2019 issued by the DILG providing
clarification and guidelines on the formulation of the ELA, This unifying document contains
the prioritized programs, projects and proposed legislations and other development thrusts
and priorities identified to address pressing concerns and new developments in the province.

The formulation of the ELA was tasked to the ELA Team by virtue of Executive Order
No. 34. This team was composed of the Local Chief Executive (LCE) and various Provincial
Government Department Heads (PGDH) representing the Executive Department and the
Presiding Officer and Board Members to represent the Legislative Department. It is the
primary function of the ELA team to draft and finalize the ELA, review available plans and
documents and gather data required in the development of the ELA and assist the LCE in
the conduct of public hearings and other consultation sessions with the various LGU
stakeholders and affected sectors.

In accordance to the aforementioned legal bases, the Provincial Government of

Cotabato is mandated to have this Plan since the ELA serves as the primary unifying
document for the Executive and Legislative branches of government to amalgamate its
priorities to achieve the vision and mission of the province.
 Considered as a “powerful vehicle for effective local governance” and “development
roadmap for the LGU”, the ELA has the following important uses;

 To lead the executive and the legislative branches towards a unified vision,
mission, goals and objectives;
 To enable the executive and legislative branches to agree on priority
problems and issues;
 To help the LGU focus on a set of interventions towards the attainment of a
common set of objectives and goals;
 To increase the chances for implementation of priority programs of the
executive department, if the legislative branch formulates ordinances in
support of the LCE program of government; and
 To speed up the implementation of priority projects.

The Eight Point Development Agenda

The ELA of the Province of Cotabato contains the priorities of both the Executive
and Legislative Branches of the LGU, which covers a short term development investment
plan (2019-2022) to achieve the different program priorities and in accordance to this
Administration’s Eighth (8) Point Agenda that are as follows: Upgrading Health Care
Services, Eco-Tourism Promotion, Participatory Governance, Farmers Empowerment
Towards Modern Agriculture, Nurturing Education, Environmental Protection and
Preservation, Youth Development And Empowerment, Sustainable Livelihood And
Dignified Employment.

The Eight (8) Point Agenda was categorized into four (4) sectoral compositions, the
Governance and Administration, Economic Development, Social Services and
Environmental Management according to the thematic areas of the Local Governance
Performance Measurement System.

The ELA features the (1) Executive Summary; (2) LGU Vision and Mission
Statements; (3) Brief Profile of the LGU; (4) Developmental Thrust of the Local Chief
Executive; (5) Executive Agenda corresponding to the Developmental Goals, Objectives,
Strategies and PPAs; (6) Legislative Agenda supporting the Developmental Goals and
corresponding legislative requirements.

As far as Executive and Legislative supports are concerned, the thrust and priorities
of the present leadership through the program of governance called “MASAGANANG
COTABATO, DUMAKI!”, and these agenda are the bases of programs and projects
implementation in the province.

MASAGANANG COTABATO, DUMAKI! is the tagline and advocacy program of the

provincial government. The phrase “Masaganang Cotabato” stresses the aspiration of the
present leadership to attain progress, promoting peace and order and to strengthen its
economy and reduce poverty. The word “Dumaki” is a Menuvo (Manobo) word that means,
“Kuyog Ta” in Visaya that expresses the notion of going together hand in hand. When put
into one phrase it becomes “Masaganang Cotabato, Dumaki!” which ultimately means unity
to attain the development of the Province of Cotabato. This progress through unity and
participation in the development of government service is the driving force of the provincial
government to deliver better and quality basic services.

Participatory Governance emphasizes that stakeholders will be consulted in the

formulation and will be aware and enlightened on the presence of the ELA Team. This Team
will ensure that resources will be managed and implemented effectively and efficiently. They
will also identify problems that will occur during the implementation and provide
recommendations for remedial actions and appropriate adjustments. There will be a
continuous tracking of progress and performance against the plans.

The ELA Formulation Process

The Province of Cotabato ELA 2019-2022 is anchored on the vision and mission of
the province, while directly taking off from the province’s existing developmental directions
recently set in:

a. Provincial Executive and Legislative Planning Workshop at the Capitol Rooftop

on July 23, 2019 wherein inputs and some instructions were given to the participants
by the Department of the Interior and Local Government;
b. Provincial Executive and Legislative Planning Workshop at Tagaytay City on
October 2, 2019 in which the output of this activity was the updating and revision of
the vision and mission of the province and the incorporation of the thematic areas of
the of the Local Governance Performance Measurement System;
c. Consultation and critiquing of the Draft ELA to the Provincial Department
Heads and ELA team on January 15, 2020 at the Capitol Rooftop, Amas Kidapawan
City;
d. Consultation and critiquing of the Draft ELA to the Local Chief Executive at the
Provincial Governor’s Office on January 21, 2020;
e. Consultation and critiquing of the Draft ELA with the Presiding Officer and
Sangguniang Panlalawigan Members on February 19, 2020 for their
recommendations;
f. Presentation and Adoption of ELA by the Provincial Development Councip
(PDC);
g. Submission of the ELA 2019-2022 to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of the
Province of Cotabato; and
h. Approval of ELA 2019-2022 by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

With the approval of the ELA for 2019-2022 and with the support of the Honorable
Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Cotabato, City and Municipal Local Government Offices and
other stakeholders, we hope to achieve what we have envisioned for the Province and
implement programs and projects that were targeted for implementation in the next 3 years.