A committee of the Indonesian House of Regional Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Daerah or DPD), one of the two parliamentary chambers of Indonesia, recently chose UP as one of a few agencies to visit in the Philippines for the committee’s comparative study on drafting a law for local autonomy.
Four members of the DPD, staff members of its Committee 1, and an officer from the Indonesian embassy in the Philippines met key UP officials in the UP Board of Regents Room on July 28, 2017 for a briefing on the University’s input to Philippine legislation on local governance.
UP Executive Vice President Ted Herbosa, Vice President for Academic Affairs Cynthia Rose Bautista, UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies (CIDS) Executive Director Edna Co, and Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs Ranjit Rye briefed the Indonesian delegates on lessons from the implementation of the Local Government Code of 1991, which are being used to propose revisions to said Code. CIDS is part of a technical working group reviewing the Code. This group is also considering the shift to federalism being endorsed by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Studies suggest that if federalism is to be pursued, the process must be incremental and should perhaps look into “island economies” first, Co said.
UP handed to the Indonesian delegates copies of the CIDS’s Public Policy journal special issue on the theme “National Marine Policy Review and Strategic Directions”, which highlights the archipelagic character of the Philippines, a character it shares with Indonesia.
According to a CIDS presentation, natural bio-physical characteristics of territories is one criterion to be considered for the creation of special sub-national regions, aside from states of social services, industrialization, infrastructure, and peace and development.
The Indonesian delegates were led by the following DPD members: H. Fachrul Razi from Aceh, vice chair of DPD Committee 1; and Ir. Mohamad Nabil, Drs. Bahar Ngitung, and Yanes Murib, from West Papua and the Sulawesis. Prior to visiting UP, they had briefing meetings with the Metro Manila Development Authority, the National Economic and Development Authority, the Department of Interior and Local Government, the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, and the House of Representatives. (Jo. Florendo B. Lontoc, UP MPRO)
