In the Philippines, every province, city, and municipality is required to have a Local School Board (LSB), which oversees the use of the Special Education Fund for public schools. Co-chaired by the local chief executive and the school superintendent, the LSB is responsible for setting annual budgets, supporting school facilities, and providing guidance on education-related concerns, ensuring that local governments play an active role in advancing basic education.<\/p>\n
A best practice is for mayors not to simply leave planning to superintendents and limit their role to approving and signing proposals. As local chief executives, they should be fully engaged\u2014well-informed, actively involved, and genuinely co-leading their respective Boards rather than being consulted only in passing.<\/p>\n
The World Bank\u2019s paper on Participatory Development: Myths and Dilemmas, defines participation as \u201cthe sum of the human transactions which take place voluntarily (within and across organizations) in a society aiming to achieve sustainable and equitable economic growth\u201d. Excluding coercive and violent interactions, the definition implies transparency in the process of participation as well as accountability for its outcomes.<\/p>\n
Local government leaders should understand this, among many other responsibilities. The following story from Synergeia Foundation, entitled \u201cEducation Governance Rewritten by the People\u201d offers an excellent model of how it can be effectively put into practice.<\/p>\n
I Change.<\/p>\n
With that simple but disarming theme, the Department of Social Welfare and Development Chief challenged a room full of leaders to rethink leadership itself, not as something they define, but as something shaped, corrected, and ultimately transformed by the people they serve.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe title didn\u2019t say \u2018we.\u2019 It\u2019s \u2018I,\u2019 so \u2018ako\u2019\u2026 kung paano ako nagbago,\u201d Honorable Secretary Rex Gatchalian said, setting the tone for a speech that was as introspective as it was instructive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember noong mayor ako, I would also be sitting there…I would like to say na maraming marami akong natututunan joining this education summit over the years\u201d.<\/p>\n
He was among the most outstanding mayors mentored by the Synergeia Foundation, organizer of the 2026 Washington SyCip National Education Summit held at the Philippine International Convention Center.<\/p>\n
Gatchalian traced his journey from Congress to City Hall, where he served as mayor of Valenzuela for nine years. Entering the role, he carried a strong sense of confidence, one that quickly proved misplaced. \u201cI used to think, like most politicians, that I knew it all\u2026 I knew every single answer,\u201d he admitted. \u201cDoon ako nagkakamali.\u201d<\/p>\n
The wake-up call came when the city\u2019s education performance sharply declined despite his expectations of continuity. \u201cThere must be something wrong,\u201d he recalled. \u201cAnd that\u2019s when I realized that I didn\u2019t know every single thing about governance.\u201d Reflecting on that moment, he added: \u201cAng dami palang namamatay sa maling akala. And kamuntik akong mamatay nung first six months.\u201d<\/p>\n
That realization pushed him toward a radically different approach: listening. Guided by mentors like Dr. Milwida M. Guevara of Synergeia Foundation, he engaged in months of consultations with stakeholders.<\/p>\n
He recounted \u201cSo tinanong ko si Ma\u2019am Nene, Ma\u2019am, anong gagawin natin? Sabi niya, hindi rin niya alam. Sabi niya, ang nakakaalam niyan, yung mga tao mismo. Why don\u2019t we talk to them, sabi niya. Why don\u2019t we listen to them? And we talk to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
What followed was a six-month immersion in community voices. \u201cWe did six months\u2019 worth of talking, listening, talking, and listening\u2026 sila ang nagsasalita.\u201d<\/p>\n
This process fundamentally reshaped his understanding of leadership. \u201cI\u2019d like to think that it\u2019s the people who define your leadership style,\u201d he said. \u201cNot the other way around.\u201d He also warned of a common pitfall among those in power: \u201cWhen you are a local chief executive\u2026 your voice tends to be the loudest in the room. You tend to drown out everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
His solution was simple but powerful: \u201cGo in, introduce yourself, keep quiet, and listen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through this listening process, Gatchalian and his team developed \u201cEducation 360,\u201d a holistic program that placed the child at the center of the education system. \u201cSiya yung nasa gitna\u2026 umikot yung mundo namin sa kaniya,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
The initiative included feeding programs, literacy efforts, improved facilities, and values formation, but its strength lay in community ownership. Schools and stakeholders were invited to propose solutions themselves. \u201cWhen people are part of the solution, pag kasama sila sa solusyon, they tend to work harder toward the same direction,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t shove it down their throats; rather, you ask them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of the program\u2019s innovations came directly from the ground. \u201cActually, all of those ideas came from them,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p>\n
From his experience, Gatchalian outlined three core principles: Acceptance, \u201cLeaders\u2026 should accept that we don\u2019t know everything. We don\u2019t have a monopoly of the right answers.\u201d; Listening, \u201cListen, listen, listen\u2026 the right answers come from the people themselves.\u201d He added a practical insight: \u201cWhen you open your mouth, everybody just keeps quiet\u2026 the trick is to keep quiet.\u201d; Shared Ownership, \u201cKailangan bahagi sila ng solusyon\u2026 make people believe that they are part of the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even with strong ideas, Gatchalian acknowledged that resistance is inevitable, especially in government. \u201cPalagi mong naririnig yung \u2018imposible ho yan, mahirap ho yan, hindi ho yan puwede,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But he emphasized that leadership requires persistence. \u201cIt\u2019s your responsibility to make it happen\u2026 or else manlalamig yung mga tao.\u201d He cited the DSWD\u2019s \u201cWalang Gutom Program\u201d as an example of pushing through bureaucratic barriers. Initially dismissed as unworkable, the program eventually secured funding and is now scaling up nationwide.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoadblocks will always be there,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you just have to be very, very relentless.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gatchalian shared similar resistance during his time as mayor, particularly when launching education reforms. \u201cAng sagot lagi sa akin\u2026 \u2018Mahirap ho yan. Imposible ho yan,\u2019\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n
But iteration and persistence paid off. Programs evolved, adding incentives, engaging college students, and addressing practical barriers like food access. \u201cBottomline, there will always be roadblocks,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd the role of leaders is to make things happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
He summed it up succinctly: \u201cWe don\u2019t stop\u2026 we have to be relentless until we make the impossible, possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Gatchalian, true leadership is measured not by tenure, but by sustainability.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe agents of change, hindi ikaw yun,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s your responsibility to find other people who will carry on the battle.\u201d He emphasized the importance of building systems and empowering others to continue the work. \u201cOur public life is finite\u2026 we have to make sure that the programs outlive us.\u201d<\/p>\n
In closing, Gatchalian returned to his central thesis: leadership is defined by the people.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the people that change the leader,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the people that define the leadership style.\u201d And for leaders navigating complexity and uncertainty, his advice remains grounded and clear: \u201cLet them figure out what the problem is\u2026 because the right answers really come from them.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the end, his message was not just about governance, it was about transformation. \u201cI came into City Hall thinking I knew everything,\u201d he reflected. \u201cBut the most simple thing, I did not know how to solve.\u201d<\/p>\n
What followed was not just a turnaround in policy, but a redefinition of leadership itself, one shaped by humility, shared ownership, and the courage to change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Participatory governance helps ensure accountability and transparency in public education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":262754,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19608],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-262753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-future-ready"],"zyndk8_nxtgen_metadata":{"nxtgen_comments":[{"8455":"ang ganda ng lesson about leadership \ud83d\udc99\r","8456":"leadership \ud83d\udc99\r","8457":"listen to people \u2764\ufe0f\r","8458":"real change \ud83d\udc96\r","8459":"good idea pero mahirap gawin\r","8460":"gud system \ud83d\udc4d\r","8461":"salmt sa people \ud83d\udc99\r"}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uptownmanila.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uptownmanila.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uptownmanila.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uptownmanila.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/114"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uptownmanila.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=262753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/uptownmanila.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uptownmanila.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/262754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uptownmanila.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=262753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uptownmanila.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=262753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uptownmanila.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=262753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}