As the administration continues to sweep dust out from under the rug, another government agency has decided to step forward for a second chance. The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) is the latest to join the massive governance campaign that has turned things around for several government agencies and cities in the Philippines.

Putting together a select group of assistant directors, division heads, correctional facility superindendents, and planning experts from the bureau, Lt. Gen. Gaudencio S. Pangilinan expressed the need to revisit organizational issues like the lack of prison dormitories, inefficient record-keeping, and an imbalanced ratio of inmates to personnel.

After sitting down to discuss these internal and external realities in a working session earlier this week, the bureau agreed that its objective should be to develop ‘productive and socially acceptable released inmates’ in order to achieve its 2016 goal of becoming a ‘dependable, effective, and modern correctional institution.’ To get this done, the bureau is planning to launch a comprehensive reform program for inmates in conjunction with a ladderized training program for personnel among other reformation initiatives.

BuCor is currently polishing its Strategy Map and Scorecard, and is due for a validation exercise in January 2012.

We seek to hasten that transition.

Philippine society labors under the weight of illegal, unethical, immoral practices of both rich and poor in government, business, and civil society.

We seek to end these practices.

More than one out of three Filipinos are mired in poverty.

We seek to eliminate poverty through honest and competent work.

We are unfazed by the bleak picture many paint of the present.

We trust in the creative energies of the human person.

We trust in the common sense of the Filipino.

We trust in the inherent power of goodness.

We are ready to lead change, beginning with ourselves.

We are ready to help others change, one by one.

And we pledge to keep these commitments, while urging people to change — however long it may take, here, in the Philippines.

To jumpstart the work, Mayor Jed Mabilog and the Iloilo Office for Strategy Management (OSM) held a working session to identify the critical steps the City needs to take in order to qualify for the Hall of Fame award. Among the identified next steps are a Strategy Refresh, assurance of participation from the city’s 6 districts and further development of the personal scorecard.

Iloilo’s Hall of Fame aspirations build on the breakthroughs it has achieved through PGS, the most significant of which is major private-public participation. This is a big advantage in terms of the city’s ability to unify its constituents under its vision of becoming a premier city by 2015.

This year the PNP is expected to begin reporting publicly its strategic performance. In line with this, the D-staff has finalized their performance targets for the year.  Deputy Director for Plans and PGS Focal Person General Rex Milton A. Dolino expressed the PNP’s need to synchronize its efforts towards “transforming the PNP into a more capable, effective, and credible police force.”

More than a review of the organization’s strategy, the workshop led to a reawakening of the officers’ commitment to the work of transformation, and to keep them focused on the ultimate goal of transforming the PNP into a justly governed institution.

The Philippine National Police is targeting PGS Compliance by March 2011. It is among the first batch of agencies mandated by the national government to undergo PGS as part of the anti-corruption commitment to the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).

Dear Boot Camp Attendees,

We thank you all for being with us in the recently concluded ISA Boot Camp themed “Clock Builders: Laying the foundations to make the PGS clock tick for sustained breakthroughs” at Naga City last July 19-22, 2010. You may now check out the pictures on the Associates Boot Camp page.

We hope you could be with us again in future endeavors as well as in the next Boot Camp.

Presentations are now posted on our website, exclusively for you, Boot Campers! Kindly register first in ISA’s Online Community to gain access to them. You may click on this LINK to register. Upon registering, kindly LOG-IN. At this point, you are already part of a community of governance performers and advocates.

To view the presentations, kindly click on this LINK upon registering, and we shall be giving you access to these within a day’s time upon ascertaining your attendance through an e-mail message.

We also hope you could partake in the online discussions for Boot Campers started recently, and to have with you with us again in the future endeavors!

Yours truly,

The ISA Team

For inquiries, kindly contact the Web Admin through lmontesclaros@isacenter.org or through louiepm@gmail.com.

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Have you registered for the 2010 Palladium Asia Pacific Summit, held for the first time in Manila, Philippines?

The Palladium Group and the Institute for Solidarity in Asia (ISA) is pleased to invite you to the 2010 Palladium Asia Pacific Summit: Strategy Execution and Governance for Achieving Breakthrough Performance in the Next Decade to be held for the first time in the Philippines, on 22^nd -23^rd of September 2010, at the Sofitel Manila Plaza, Manila.

Our outstanding program at this year brings you thought leadership from two luminaries, Dr David Norton, co-founding father of the Balanced Scorecard Strategy Execution System and co-founder of the Palladium Group, and Dr Jesus Estanislao, who through the establishment of the Institute of Solidarity in Asia, has become a great advocate and driving force for good governance in the region. Practical experience will be shared by Palladium Hall of Fame winners such as Infosys, Lockheed Martin, Kiwibank, The International Islamic University of Malaysia as well as regional organization such as Benpres Holdings Corporation, Mater Health Services, the city of Iloilo and the SOHO Group.

We welcome you to join the 2010 Palladium Asia Pacific Summit in Manila, held on September 22 and 23 at the Sofitel Manila Plaza. For more information on the agenda and key note speakers, please click here: http://www.palladiumisasummit2010.com.

SPECIAL ISA MEMBER OFFER: as a member of the Institute for Solidarity in Asia, we are excited to extend to you a 30% discount off the full price of the event. This is a saving of P4200 per ticket. Please click here to register now: http://www.palladiumisasummit2010.com.

Please click here to download summit brochure.

The four-day boot camp dubbed as “Governance ABC: The Fundamentals of Making Performance Governance System (PGS) Work,” aims to equip participants coming from the local government units of Iloilo, Calbayog and Naga, the National Electrification Administration, the Philippine Navy, Philippine Military Academy, and the private sector on strategic PGS implementation and formulation.

The boot camp includes organizational sessions and strategic PGS discussions with Zaens and ISA officials Nick Fontanilla, Jesus Estanislao and Marie Escueta.

“This is the first ever boot camp we are holding and we chose the city because it is already implementing and using the PGS. We did so because it has to be realistic and not theories alone. The city’s experience means a lot and will greatly help our associates in understanding strategies of PGS,” ISA Executive Director Christian Saens told Sun.Star Pampanga.

A tour to the slaughterhouse, sagip-Ilog project and the Nuestra Señora Integrated School where best practices will be observed first hand is also part of the itinerary.

City Administrator Ferdinand Caylao and City Planning Office Chief and Multi-Sectoral Governance Council Secretary Fernando Limbitco represented the City Government, which is a Hall of Famer of the PGS.

Councilor Jimmy Lazatin is also part of the city delegation.

For his part, Mayor Oscar Rodriguez thanked the ISA for choosing the city as its host.

“We have gone a long way in the PGS and we are very happy to share with you our experiences as well (as) pains and triumphs with the system,” he said.

The City Government will once again be enrolled in the hall of fame during the Asia Pacific Palladium Group (Washington) Summit in Manila on September 22 this year, Zaens noted.

Published in the Sun.Star Pampanga newspaper on February 10, 2010.

We seek to hasten that transition.

Philippine society labors under the weight of illegal, unethical, immoral practices of both rich and poor in government, business, and civil society.

We seek to end these practices.

More than one out of three Filipinos are mired in poverty.

We seek to eliminate poverty through honest and competent work.

We are unfazed by the bleak picture many paint of the present.

We trust in the creative energies of the human person.

We trust in the common sense of the Filipino.

We trust in the inherent power of goodness.

We are ready to lead change, beginning with ourselves.

We are ready to help others change, one by one.

And we pledge to keep these commitments, while urging people to change — however long it may take, here, in the Philippines.