The Department of the Interior and Local Government – National Capital Region (DILG-NCR) held its first Regional Team Conference (RTC) for the year on January 19, 2022, via Zoom.

Conducted on a monthly basis, the RTC serves as a platform for the Regional Management to regularly discuss updates on the implementation of various DILG-managed Programs/Projects/Activities (PPA) at the Regional and Field Offices level.

Attended by 21 out of 22 permanent members, as well as key personnel from the Regional Office, the agenda was focused on the DILG’s priorities and thrusts for 2022.

The discussion also included the draft DILG-NCR Annual Operations Plan and Budget (AOPB) for FY 2022, PPA updates and reminders from the three divisions of the DILG-NCR, the Center for Advancement of Local Governance (CALG), and other pressing issues and concerns raised by the attendees.

Regional Director Maria Lourdes L. Agustin, CESO III, underscored that the DILG-NCR has a full year coming up, full of challenges, but nothing that it has not yet faced before. “We have already gone through two years of this pandemic, and with your performance since 2020, I know what you are truly capable of. Together, we can help the country recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic”, RD Agustin emphasized.

OIC-Assistant Regional Director Atty. Ana Lyn. R. Baltazar-Cortez, CESO V, facilitated the open forum of the meeting. The Division Chiefs and other key focal persons responded to the issues and concerns raised by the City Directors and MLGOO.

In the course of facilitating the open forum, OIC-ARD Atty. Baltazar-Cortez assured all attendees that the Regional Management will closely monitor the fulfillment of the agreements reached during the meeting. Concurrently serving as the Program Manager for CALG, she also encouraged all participants to further promote and embrace effective knowledge management, as embodied by the CALG, in their daily operations.

The CALG, officially launched through a ceremonial signing with the members of the Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Board in November 2021, is an innovation which aims to ensure the continuous delivery of responsive capability building interventions to NCR local government units that promote the advancement of local governance in the region.