To pursue local government capacity development towards good governance, members of the National Directorate (ND) of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) conducted their Special Meeting with the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) and the GTZ Decentralization Program on 3 April 2008 at the Dusit Thani Manila in Makati City.

    During the said meeting, the LMP National Directorate ratified two resolutions passed by the LMP National Executive Committee (NEC) that aim to strengthen the multi-year partnership of LMP-MDC with the GTZ and HSF.  

NEC Resolution No. 001-2008 approves the multi-year Institutional Partnership Program on Local Governance Capacity of the LMP-Mayors Development Center, Inc. (MDC) in partnership with the GTZ  and the HSF. NEC Resolution No. 002-2008, on the other hand, calls for the the institutionalization of MDC to be incorporated in the said multi-year Institutional Partnership Program.   

The meeting also featured the signing of Joint Manifesto of Partneship among LMP-MDC, GTZ and HSF.  In the Joint Manifesto, all parties “agree to work together through the implementation of this meaningful and beneficial multi-year institutional partnership, which is crucial to the realization of effective and efficient LGUs.”   They also agree to “commit their technical expertise and counterpart resources to the multi-year institutional partnership program on local government capacity development towards good governance.”

Dr. Horst Reif, City Director of the Munich, Germany, was the special guest during the meeting. Dr. Reif delivered his special presentation before members of the National Directorate on “Municipal Self-government and the Quality of Work Performed by Members of the Municipal Councils and Administration” in Germany.  Dr. Herwig Mayer, Program Manager  of GTZ Decentralization Program, and Mr. Paul Schafer, Resident Representative to the Philippines of HSF, presented the missions and programs of GTZ and HSF in the Philippines, respectively.  

Mayor Ramon N. Guico, Jr., the LMP National President,  thanked the GTZ and the HSF for trusting the LMP and the MDC and stressed that the  generous assistance of GTZ and HSF to the LMP and MDC “will definitely go a long way in building the capacities of LGUs to innovate and perform.”   

The HSF has the mission to promote democracy, peace and development.  The HSF has been practicing political education work with the aim of supporting "the democratic and civic education”.  

The GTZ, on the other hand,  is an implementing agency of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development or BMZ.  It is an international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. GTZ or Deutsche Gesellschaft Für Technische Zusammenarbeit (German Technical Cooperation)  promotes complex reforms and change processes, often working under difficult conditions. Its corporate objective is to improve people’s living conditions on a sustainable basis.