Alliance building - anong basis, key features and models?*

A team from Western Basilan Alliance (WBA) on Study Tour to
the Metro Naga Development Council (MNDC) in September 2018.
(Photo credit: IAG)

Legal basis. Contemporary alliance building among local governments in the Philippines traces its beginning to the Local Government Code of 1991 where in Section 33, it provides that “local government units may, through appropriate ordinances, group themselves, consolidate or coordinate their effort, services and resources for purpose commonly beneficial to them". Since then more then twenty (20) alliances have been organized across the country. There are alliances specific about health development, coastal resources development, urban development and alliances centered around the preservation and protection of shared mountain range, marshland and lake. Thus, the Western Basilan Alliance (WBA) is perhaps the latest addition to this list.

From local government alliance to interlocal cooperation. While the beginning has been focused on local government alliances, in the 2nd national summit, there was a recommendation to change from more exclusive local government alliances, towards a more inclusive and "generalized term to inter-local because the members may come from the civil society, private sector and other sectors", or simply the ILC.

Key features of ILC. There are four (4) key features of any interlocal alliance:

1. A common purpose
2. A coordinating structure
3. A commonly agreed upon systems
4. Pooled resources

Alliance configurations. There are also four (4) alliance configurations:

1. All-LGU or Natural Alliance - "These are LGUs coming together but not forming a new juridical entity. The legal binding document for this configuration is the Memorandum of Agreement", e.g. Southeast Cebu Coastal Resource Management Council(SCCRMC) and Lanuza Bay Development Alliance (LBDA) in Surigao del Sur.
   
   
2. All-LGU Alliance with a new juridical entity - "This alliance configuration is created through congressional acts, presidential executive order or provincial executive order", e.g. "Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and Partido Development Authority (PDA). 
   
   
3. All-Government Alliance –This alliance is made up of LGUs and national line agencies. One example is the Lake Mainit Development Alliance(LMDA).
   
   
4. Public-Private Sector Alliance - "Institutionalized in the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act which is the basis for the creation of the PAMB and EO 205 which is the basis for the creation of the Inter-Local Health Zone (ILHZ)", e.g. Libertad, Pandan, Sebaste and Culasi Bay Wide Management Council(LIPASECU) and Alliance of Northern Iloilo for Health Development (ANIHEAD).

WBA is currently an all-LGU alliance (#1).

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Reference: EU-GIZ-CIDA-PDF (2012). "Critical Ingredients in Building and Sustaining Alliance/Inter-Local Cooperation", pages  15 to 21. - https://www.ab.gov.tr/files/ardb/evt/1_avrupa_birligi/1_9_politikalar/1_9_8_dis_politika/Critical_ingredients_in_building_and_sustaining_inter-local_cooperation.pdf  

WBA radio is PBS new affiliate station

Simple MoA signing ceremony between PBS headed by DirGen Rizal Giovanni "Bong" Aportadera Jr and Maluso mayor Hans Bud. (L to R) PBS accreditation committee chair Engr Rodentor Domingo, PBS DirGen Bong Aportadera Jr, Maluso mayor Hans Bud, WBA radio station manager Zia Ulhaq Basa and Maluso head of health office Dr Shalhua Sahipa-Yasin.

Maluso, Basilan (October 29, 2019) - The Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS) and Maluso local government signs a memorandum of agreement (MoA) is a simple ceremony at the Maluso town hall.

The MoA accredits the WBA 99.1FM radio station managed by Maluso local government on behalf of the Western Basilan Alliance (WBA), and which was inaugurated last October 14, 2019, located at the new town hall complex in barangay Taberlongan, this municipality.

As a PBS affiliate station, WBA 99.1FM will operate based on PBS standards for it's affiliate stations spread nationwide, receive technical support, including its registration with the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC).

Maluso mayor Hans Bud says that hosting the WBA radio station is an extra challenge that they heartily embrace as they believe this will have positive impact on local governance and the lives of ordinary citizens in this trading town. He added that his team had also been up to developmental challenges as he echoes their 3rd win for the national Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLC), among many Awards they have been recognized.

PBS DirGen believes that it is in the best interest of the country to support local governments and local alliances that have shown innovativeness, creativity and initiativeness in delivering public service and reaching out to their constituencies. He hope that other local governments in the countryside will follow the WBA lead.

According to Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) executive director Atty Benny Bacani, the partnership is a welcome initiative to sustain the radio station, which his agency donated to the WBA, and intended as a shared platform for social communication and community engagement.

The radio facility was made possible through the "Modelling Inter-LGU Alliance in Basilan" (MILAB), a project funded by AECID, the Spanish aid agency for international cooperation and development; while the station building was constructed by the provincial government of Basilan under the leadership of PGov Jim Hataman and Maluso local government headed by Mayor Hans A Bud.