Philippine public policy, reform politics, and participatory governance highlighted in JRIG-led workshops
MANILA CITY, PHILIPPINES – The De La Salle University – Jesse M. Robredo Institute of Governance (DLSU-JRIG) led several writeshops and a seminar-workshop on local governance and the state of Philippine policy in separate collaborations with the Lasallian Justice and Peace Commission, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Philippines, and the Australian National University (ANU) Philippines Institute and the University of Melbourne (UniMelb) last November 2025.
These engagements have provided several academics, governance experts, and practitioners in taking a closer and more critical look into the country’s current political and governance climate and presented an avenue for discourse and capacity building on transparent and participatory politics.
Championing open and participatory local governance
Co-organized with the Lasallian Justice and Peace Commission headed by Prof. Gladstone Cuarteros, the “Seminar-Workshop on Local Governance: Avenues for Citizen Participation and Open Government” was aimed to equip them with practical knowledge on engaging and collaborating with local government units. The two-day event was held at the De La Salle Philippines Central House, La Salle Greenhills last November 13-14 attended by participants representing schools from the De La Salle Philippines (DLSP).
IN PHOTOS: Participants of the “Seminar-Workshop on Local Governance: Avenues for Citizen Participation and Open Government”, along with staff and researchers from DLSU-JRIG, after the first day of the event.
The event featured key local government officials and experts such as Magallanes Cavite Vice Mayor Aina Marie Sisante-Maligalig, Department of Interior and Local Government - Support to Local Governance Program (DILG-SLGP) Development Management Officer Ms. Jennifer De Belen, and Pasig City District 1 Councilor Paul Angelo Senogat.
Vice Mayor Sisante-Maligalig opened the sessions with an overview of the local governance ecosystem and its key processes. On the same day, Ms. De Belen led the discussion on the fundamentals of Local Planning, Implementation, Monitoring, and Evaluation (PIME) as part of the session on civil society participation. Councilor Senogat also shared insights on cascading good governance through strengthening public participation, emphasizing the importance of universities and schools in forwarding participatory governance.
At the end of the seminar-workshop, the participants were able to craft an action plan on engaging with LGUs and championing civic engagement, applying pertinent insights from the four sessions.
Upcoming publications on Philippine public policy and reform politics
Aside from capacity building on local governance, JRIG was also at the forefront in the production of upcoming publications tackling public policy and reform politics in the country. Among these is its collaboration with FES Philippines on reform politics in the country.
Titled, ”Interregnum: Philippine Progressive and Reform Politics in an Age of Authoritarian Nostalgia”, the book project aimed to chronicle the campaigns of progressive and reformist parties and candidates from the 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE) and evaluate their prospects following the 2028 national and local elections.
The book project is headed by its editor, Dr. Julio C. Teehankee, who is one of the most cited political scientists in the Philippines whose particular focus is on elections, party politics and political dynasties, democratization, and governance. Dr. Teehankee is also a Research Fellow of the Institute. Moreso, the book project features various political science scholars in the country from several universities and organizations.
IN PHOTO: Dr. Julio C. Teehankee, Full Professor of Political Science at DLSU Manila and JRIG Senior Fellow, leads the book writeshop activity in partnership with FES Philippines.
On the other hand, the Institute also co-organized an upcoming book on Philippine public policy with the ANU Philippines Institute and the University of Melbourne. Titled "Policy Analysis in the Philippines", the book project aimed to take a critical look at the relevance of policy analysis in the Philippines and how it has shaped public policy throughout several administrations.
The three-day book workshop was opened with a roundtable discussion moderated by DLSU Department of Political Science and Development Studies (DPSDS) Professor Dr. Sherwin Ona, and featured brief discussions on Philippine policy analysis by Dr. Kidjie Saguin of the University of Melbourne and on public policy reforms by Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Undersecretary Wilford Will Wong. The roundtable discussion was able to spark a conversation on the relevance of public policy in the Philippines, offering insights from the government and the academe, zooming in on how different societal actors can participate in policy analysis.
IN PHOTO (L-R): Dr. Kidjie Saguin from the University of Melbourne and DBM Undersecretary Wilford Wong during the roundtable discussion on Policy Analysis in the Philippines held at DLSU Manila.
The upcoming public policy book project was attended by several experts in Philippine policy analysis from both private and public sectors, including Dr. Francisco Magno, Director of DLSU-JRIG, who is also contributing two chapters to the book.
The events co-organized by the Institute were all part of the broader commitment of De La Salle University to building peaceful, just, and strong institutions, and strengthening external partnerships across public and private divide, in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).