LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. XU-GLI director Dr Dixon Yasay shares on sustainable local economic development at the 2017 National Convention of the League of Local Planning and Development Coordinators of the Philippines. Contributed photo. 

By Wilson J Hormeguera

Dr Dixon Yasay, director of Xavier University - Governance and Leadership Institute (XU-GLI), recently served as resource speaker on sustainable Local Economic Development (LED) at the National Convention of the League of Local Planning and Development Coordinators of the Philippines Inc (LLPDCPI) held in Iloilo City.

The national convention aimed to strengthen the capacities of the local planning and development coordinators to effectively carry out their functions in program and project planning towards local development. It was also an opportunity to learn new ideas from experts and share their best practices and challenges.

Bearing the theme “Local Economic Development (LED): A Strategy for Up-scaling Communities towards Competitiveness and Globalization,” participants were dared to make use of the essentials of leadership and sense of community to push for developments in their respective local government units (LGUs).

The delegates were planning and development coordinators from the different municipal, city, and provincial governments across the country, as well as other local government institutions, who are considered as "agents of change and drivers of development."

Yasay, pointing out that municipal planners connect the present and the past local administrations, said, "They must not only be technical but also able to convince political leadership in sustaining local development initiatives."∎

LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. XU-GLI director Dr Dixon Yasay receives his certificate from the leaders of the 2017 National Convention of the League of Local Planning and Development Coordinators of the Philippines after his talk on sustainable local economic development. Contributed photo.