Transparency and Local Governance: The Batanes Experience
by Maria Luthgarda B. Fabia

Transparency. This is the strongest word that a new Provincial Governor, then a political neophyte, articulated when he took the helm in the Province of Batanes on the 1st of July, 1998. After recording a whopping victory in all precincts during the May 1998 elections, Governor
Vicente de Sagon Gato made his way to the province’s highest seat, succeeding former Governor Telesforo F. Castillejos who then held the singular distinction of being the first provincial governor to finish three consecutive terms.

For Gato and his staunch supporters, it was the perfect time. His campaign streamers bluntly stated so – “Panahon Na!”. After two failed attempts in 1992 and 1995, the Governor made no signals of giving up. Talk about resiliency and passion for service. 1998 was indeed a remarkable year.

Governor Gato took center stage when the Local Government Code of 1991 or RA 7160 was already making waves in local autonomy and local democracy. But the Code was still in its formative stage, like all other laws whose impacts have yet to be seen. Faced with the
difficult tasks of reconciling carry-over projects with new ones, of imposing fiscal discipline and with a clean intention of calling for a comprehensive audit of all the expenditures and projects of the Provincial Government, Gato literally carried a heavy load upon his shoulders. To say the least, he had, as the new chief executive, a responsibility and an obligation to
reconcile political and personality differences not only within the walls of the capitol but among his constituents who need to be united – or else he fails to be a “father” of the province he has vowed to serve.

Committees were formed by Governor Gato through the power of Executive Issuances. Some of the more significant are the Provincial Finance Advisory Committee, an Equipment Inspection Committee, among others. He strengthened the Provincial Development Council as a policy-making body which looks and acts on the development concerns of Batanes in the infrastructure, social and economic aspects. Moreover, he designated the members of the Personnel Selection Board, the Pre-qualification, Bids and Awards Committee and the Awards Committee and appointed Vice Governor Constante Castillejos as Chair of these
“strong” committees. Gato’s principle was simple: he must delegate the chairmanship to the Vice Governor because a good leader is someone who trusts his men and therefore delegates.

The challenges were enormous. As a retired Navy Officer with a main background on financial
management and logistics, Gato learned the ropes and crossed the bridges, day by day, through a constant learning process with old-timers in the Provincial Capitol and the new faces in his management staff. His naturally charismatic and humble persona helped a lot
in his quest for establishing harmony especially during his first 100 days as a Provincial Governor.

Transparency. Governor Gato’s transparency stand was a leap towards effective community participation. He started with a weekly radio program called “Governor’s Hour” in Batanes’ lone radio station, Radyo ng Bayan. There, he made a weekly reporting of the activities that the provincial government has undertaken, while providing updates on provincial concerns that were being
facilitated in Manila. His close collaboration with Congressman Florencio Abad was beyond party affiliation – Gato made all efforts to breed teamwork armed with a common vision of enabling the Ivatans to see and experience what progress is all about.

On top of the regular reporting of provincial programs and projects, the financial position of the province was open to public knowledge. Governor Gato was devoid of ambiguity in making known to the people the fiscal position of the province so that any perceptions of graft and corruption would be eradicated at an early stage.

Employment, as in all other parts of the country, was a burning issue, especially that one could not decipher Gato’s position from his political character. Simply put, many Ivatans expect to be given good jobs because they supported his candidacy all those years –
win or lose. Troops to the Office of the Governor was something that the Governor and his staff had to contend with. Some were begging, others were demanding. The situation almost became uncontrollable when a further assessment showed that the provincial government could not accommodate all applicants in job orders because funds could not warrant it.

But Governor Gato was indeed a born decision-maker. He addressed the employment issue on a “raffle system”, where a rotation among all applicants was implemented, such that job orders were approved for a two to three months tenure. This provided equal opportunities for
employment in the different departments of the provincial government. While the matter also gave birth to minor controversies, expectedly because of the pains of being issued termination orders, Gato’s administration treated the scenario as a venue for more learnings.

In 1999, after a successful celebration of the 216th founding anniversary of Batanes, a foreign proposal took the province by storm. Cyfred, Ltd. of Nevada, USA, floated the idea of developing Ivuhos Island as a special economic zone, where factories, recreation facilities, and port facilities will be established. In the context of economic development, the proposal
was a welcome opportunity to open the doors of Batanes to bigger and more significant economic activities that will generate employment among Ivatans and revenues for the local coffers. For young Ivatan professionals, Cyfred’s proposal will encourage them to work for the province and stamp out the case of brain drain.

However, the course became rough. When Governor Gato, adhering to his transparency stand, conducted massive information dissemination activities and public hearings in all barangays of the province, negative responses outweighed the support of some sectors. The
Catholic Church in the Prelature made its firm stand of rejecting the proposal for moral and cultural reasons. The ordinary people, on the other hand, simply were not ready for a big-scale development process, while some private groups expressed resistance based on the issue of environmental degradation. Gato had the ears and heart to listen. In a letter to Cyfred Ltd., he conveyed his rejection of the project based on the collective opinions and sentiments of the Ivatans.

His move told so much of his zeal for governance founded on the people’s aspirations. And that is democracy at its best. Transparency and community participation gradually defined his leadership.

In the year 2000, Batanes became a beneficiary of the World Bank-funded Third Elementary Education Project-School Building Program (TEEP-SBP). The program was availed of by 20 priority provinces identified by the Social Reform Agenda. It consisted in the construction and rehabilitation of elementary school buildings which will run for four years. Again, devoid of any traces of undisclosing and negotiating contracts, Governor Gato opened the competitive
bidding process to all local and mainland-based contractors, who all had to undergo accreditation processes. Public biddings were conducted and was even open for the public to witness. The same practice was employed for the Local Government Finance and Development (LOGOFIND) Project under the Department of Finance.

During the year, Gato ordered the updating of the Batanes Master Plan and named the document, “Onward Batanes”. Community participation was immensely realized when workshops and consultations involved all sectors of the community. This was intended to make sure that the Plan becomes a reflection of the people’s aspirations and intentions for the province.

Take Two

The elections in May 2001 was a hard climb to victory. Gato had to face comebacking gubernatorial candidate, Telesforo Castillejos. The 45-day campaign period was an exciting period. And a day after the polls, Gato accepted the people’s decision – a take two as
Governor. His reelection was a sweet success. The slim margin made Gato’s victory even sweeter. Because to him, a margin, big or small, hold the same significance. And after all, the people’s support through the ballot is the most important.

Perhaps, the Governor has added transparency in the list of Christian virtues he has been practicing all his life. The standard processes of bidding and appointments were upheld with a high degree of honesty. He encouraged the participation of Non-Government Organizations in the province’s programs and committees to emphasize that the private sector has a say in the development process. This saw the membership of private sector representatives in
the PBAC, Awards Committee, Provincial Clean and Green Committee, Committee on Sustainable Development, among others.

His annual State of the Province Address or SOPA, also known as “Ulat sa Bayan”, became a report to look forward to. Delivered every 26th of June, the Batanes Day, the SOPA is a comprehensive presentation of all the accomplishments of the different departments of the provincial government and expounds on the level of implementation of hard and soft infrastructure projects. Moreover, the Ulat sa Bayan lays down the policies used in the implementation of these programs, and provides a clear view of the province’s financial status as certified by the fiscal authorities in the provincial government. Usually, copies of the SOPA are requested by government and non-government bodies which the staff of the Governor always readily provides -- because there is indeed nothing to hide and nothing to be afraid of.

The Final Stretch

The Ivatans decided during the May 2004 National and Local elections that Vicente Gato should complete his three terms as the province’s chief executive. He won by landslide and people recalled how far he has gone since his first attempt in 1992. The orphan from Itbayat has now made his mark as another governor to complete three consecutive terms.

His commitment to a transparent government was evident during the campaign period. He spoke to large crowds and narrated different accounts to refute, answer and enlighten his people on the issues being thrown to him. He kept his assurance that the files of the
provincial government are always open to public scrutiny because they are documents of the people. Gato’s mix of gentleness and firm resolve gathered applause and admiration.

July 1st of 2004 shall mark another milestone in Governor Gato’s life in the public service. There will be more opportunities to practice his powers, authority and leadership with a strong and sheer act of transparency. As he gladly stated in his inaugural speech in 2001, “..This is a government by the people, for the people .This is your government, this is our government.”

It would be wise to replicate Governor Vicente Gato’s transparency policy and participatory local governance at all levels. In so doing, we can affirm that democracy is alive in Batanes, in the Philippines.

*Published June 2004 in the Batanes Day 2004 Souvenir Program.

Maria Luthgarda B. Fabia is a Senior Economic Development Specialist at the National Economic and Development Authority and was the Executive Assistant and Head of Staff of Governor Vic Gato from 1998-2002.