Submission of project proposal to the Embassy of the Czech Republic’s Small Scale Projects

Date and Venue: 18 October 2019

Organizer/s: Embassy of the Czech Republic in Manila

Last 18 October 2019, the League submitted a project proposal in response to the Embassy of the Czech
Republic in Manila’s Call for Small Scale Projects for 2020. The call for proposals is focused on projects
that will contribute in the achievement in any of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). LCP’s
proposal, titled “Bikepool to School: Increasing mobility of junior and senior high school students from
communities to school,” aims to contribute in increasing school attendance of junior and high school
students from far-flung barangays in target cities through the provision of pedicabs, or bicycles with
attached wagons to transport students to and from their communities to schools. Three (3) cities
representing each island cluster were selected as pilot sites for the project.

Successful applicants have yet to be announced by the Embassy in the first quarter of 2020.

Meeting with Liveable Cities Challenge Project and partners

Date and Venue: 20 November 2019, AIM, Makati City
Organizer/s: Liveable Cities Challenge

Upon the invitation of Mr. Guillermo Luz, head of the Liveable Cities Challenge (LCC) Project, the LCP city
database team presented its initiative in profiling its member-cities. Mr. Broderick Sapnu, LCP city
database project co-lead, provided a brief background of the project which started in 2018 and is currently
being carried over by the 2019-2022 LCP administration as among its flagship projects.

During the discussion, the potential collaboration between LCP and partners such as the LCC Project in
the interest of further developing the database and making use of data not only of the LGUs but also by
the planners, private sector, investors, and citizens was explored. Other sources of data such as the Cities
and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI), Gawad Kalasag, and Seal of Good Local Governance
(SGLG) were suggested to be incorporated in the database. The combined efforts on data related to local
governments particularly cities aim to improve government services in communities and make initiatives
data-driven. Moreover, UNDP is interested in contextualizing the SDGs into local governments and
measuring how close cities are in achieving the goals.

To move the initiative forward, LCC will write a formal letter of request to access LCP’s data to LCP
President Evelio R. Leonardia. After this, IPG Media Brands will work on the data cleansing and
visualization.

The meeting was attended by representatives from LCC’s partners such as UNDP Philippines, Globe,
Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), Quiddity, and IPG Media Brands.

Exploratory meeting with UNDP Philippines on the League’s city database project
Date and Venue: 29 November 2019, Mandaluyong City
Organizer/s: UNDP Philippines

Representatives from UNDP Philippines’ Accelerator Lab (ALab PH) invited the League’s city database
team for a meeting to further discuss the said database project. This came after a brief presentation of
the League’s database project to the Liveable Cities Challenge (LCC), together with its private sector
partners. Lead by Irina Velasco, ALab PH’s Head of Exploration, she shared UNDP’s SDG Data for Cities
Framework. Currently, they are mapping out available city data to match with SDG indicators. UNDP is
looking into data available online, from various national government agencies, and other alternative and
unconventional sources. Also, they have scaled down the global and national indicators to fit local context.
Through this, UNDP aims to make local governments appreciate and understand how SDGs can be
integrated and used in local development planning. LCP shared how cities are starting to use local data in
planning through the community-based monitoring system (CBMS).

Similar to the Liveable Cities Challenge (LCC) Project, UNDP is also keen on collaborating with LCP. This
potential partnership will be beneficial for the League in capacitating cities to generate SDG indicators
and move forward initiatives of cities from goal level towards indicator level. One related initiative of
UNDP is the development of the Development LIVE or DevLive software. Through this platform, local
governments can document local data and report on the progress of development projects.

Apart from the city database project, UNDP Philippines is looking into other possible opportunities where
LCP and UNDP can engage together. UNDP proposed to work with LCP and LCC in putting up a project
concept note related to the SDGs.

Conduct of the validation exercises to the ten (10) target cities of the Promoting gender and
development (GAD) advocacy in Philippine cities through the establishment and strengthening of GAD
Focal Point System (GFPS) Project
Date: October-December 2019
Partner/s: Embassy of Canada – Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI)

The project proposal submitted by the League of Cities of the Philippines has been successfully selected
by the Embassy of Canada through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) FY 2019-2020 for funding.
With the project titled “Promoting gender and development (GAD) advocacy in Philippine cities through
establishment and strengthening of GAD Focal Point Systems (GFPS),” it aims to improve the capacity of
cities to better implement policies that encourage better outcomes for women and girls by generating
evidence and best practices to support the creation of, and strengthening city GFPS. Through the project,
best practices of cities related to implementing GFPS and GAD-related initiatives will be documented into
a guidebook and/or compendium to aid cities in replicating said good practices. An online GFPS database
of cities will also be developed. The database will collect and analyze relevant data on GFPS and GAD
initiatives of cities.

For its first year of implementation, ten (10) cities were already visited as part of the project’s validation
exercises. The exercise aims to further gather information on cities’ GAD activities, particularly best
practices and challenges in mainstreaming GAD in local strategies and programs. Since October 2019, the
Cities of Dumaguete, Island Garden City of Samal, Lamitan, Masbate, Passi, Roxas, Tagum, and
Zamboanga. Highlights of the validation exercises also include the visits to the Cities of Baybay and
Tayabas, both accredited GAD local learning hubs by the Philippine Commission on Women.

Embassy of Canada – Canada Fund for Local Initiatives Partners’ Meeting

Date and Venue: 16 October 2019
Organizer/s: Embassy of Canada

As among the recipients of the Embassy of Canada – Canada Fund for Local Initiatives for FY 2020, LCP
project co-leads, Ms. Soleil Manzano and Mr. Broderick Sapnu, participated in the partners’ meeting
organized by the Embassy. The participants were welcomed by Mr. Warren Mucci, Counsellor for Political
and Public Affairs of the Embassy of Canada in the Philippines, providing a brief background on the Fund.
He is then joined by Mr. Ryan Webb, Second Secretary - Political; Ms. May Fe Reyes de Vera, CFLI
Coordinator; and Ms. Tiffany Urrutia, Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Service staff. The longest running
funding agency in the Philippines, Canada Fund has since embarked on a feminist approach since 2017,
following the Feminist International Assistance Policy. With this, projects focusing on gender equality and
women empowerment has been prioritized.

The meeting gathered representatives from the six (6) recipient organizations for FY 2020 to discuss
important matters relating to the project funding such as key clauses on the contribution agreement,
gender-based analysis, project modifications and amendments, recordkeeping, reporting, and
communications. It became an opportunity for participants to ask clarificatory questions concerning their
respective projects.

LCP’s project, “Promoting gender and development (GAD) advocacy in Philippine cities through the
establishment and strengthening of GAD Focal Point System (GFPS) Project,” has been granted by the
Embassy of Canada through the CFLI with multi-year funding for FY 2019-2020 and FY 2020-2021.

3rd Southeast Asia Forum on Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Date and Venue: 03-04 October 2019, Bangkok, Thailand
Organizer/s: UNESCAP

Last 03-04 October 2019, the UNESCAP organized the 3rd Southeast Asia Forum on the implementation of
the SDGs. Held at the UN Convention Centre in Bangkok, the two-day event gathered various stakeholders
from national and local governments, development partners, and civil society organizations across
Southeast Asia to discuss the sub-region’s progress in implementing the SDGs. The forum had five (5)
sessions which covered topics from the SDG Roadmap, the ASEAN Vision 2025, presentations on
countries’ voluntary national reviews, implementation challenges, and inputs for the coming ASEAN
People’s Forum on Sustainable Development. Ms. Soleil Manzano, LCP Program Officer, applied and was
selected to participate and represent local governments in the forum as part of the CSO sector.

Session 1: Where does the sub-region stand 5 years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development

From the study made by UNESCAP, the sub-region is progressing in the implementation of SDGs 7
(affordable and clean energy) and 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure) while regressing in SDGs 13
(climate action), 14 (life below water), and 15 (life on land). The regress shows little progress on
environmental stewardship. To accelerate progress in the achievement of the SDGs, there is an urgent
need to gather and use data so as to measure and further target goals that are left behind. Emphasis was
also given to financing. There is a need to invest more into people and planet to achieve the goals by 2030.

Session 2: Complementarities between the ASEAN Vision 2025 and the 2030 Agenda-A focus on
accelerators

With Agenda 2030 and the ASEAN Vision 2025 complementing each other, it was emphasized how SDG
17 (partnership for the goals) is crucial in order to achieve the SDGs as a region. One notable example is
the existing cooperation between the ASEAN and the European Union (EU). The EU contributes
significantly to the SEA sub-region by supporting projects such as financing for research facilities and
knowledge sharing platforms.
Also pertaining to partnerships, the role of local governments in the implementation of the SDGs was
given attention. During the plenary, Ms. Manzano expressed the importance involving the local
governments in achieving the SDGs through capacity building and localization of the SDGs and its
indicators.

Session 3: National and sub-regional progress, achievements and challenges with respect to the 2030
Agenda

In this session, representatives from Brunei and Philippines shared their experiences in conducting VNRs.
The VNR is an international mechanism to follow up and track the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
The Philippines is among the pioneers of VNRs, having conducted the first VNR in 2016 and the second
one just recently this 2019. The representative from NEDA shared how the country transitioned from
implementing the MDGs to SDGs. Moreover, it was emphasized how the SDGs are mainstreamed into the
country’s development plan. In response to the report, Ms. Manzano from LCP suggested the vital role of
local governments in achieving the goals. The national government should actively involve them in reviews
and assessments and not just treat them as sources of data. Capacity development and awareness raising
on the goals must be cascaded down to local governments to allow them to understand and include the
goals in local development planning.

Session 4: Unlocking means of implementation for accelerating progress towards the SDGs

This session focused on overcoming the challenges in implementing the SDGs in the aspect of disaster risk
reduction (DRR). With the sub-region being susceptible to various climate and weather-related risks, this
greatly impacts the progress on SDGs. To accelerate DRR and climate resilience, technology, policy
coherence and innovation must be prioritized.

Session 5: Gathering of inputs to the 2020 ASEAN Peoples Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD)

This session summarized the highlights of the preceding four (4) sessions wherein inputs will be
considered for the upcoming 3rd APFSD in Bangkok this 25-27 March 2020. The forum will feature means
on how to accelerate progress in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, with particular attention to
Goal 17.