Presidents and representatives of thirty-seven organizations from Binalonan on August 8 attended the Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Conference held at the Rock Garden Tent Events Center.

The one-day conference focused on accreditation of civil society organizations from various sectors such as transportation, senior citizens , alumni, farmers, women’s society, teacher-retirees, business, religion, employees, sports, and other groups and associations in Binalonan.

Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator (MPDC) Engineer Elizabeth Aquino presented the overview and the objectives of the conference.

Marivic Guerrero, DILG Municipal Local Government Officer, discussed the Relevance of Participatory Governance, Code-Mandated Avenues of Participation and the Importance of Local CSO Network.

Guerrero emphasized the importance of the activity and discussed some of the pillars of good governance- transparency, responsiveness and participatory. She also talked about the rights of Filipino citizens and some of the qualities of good citizens such as active, responsible, participative and justice-oriented.

Janet Flores, Sangguniang Bayan secretary, tackled the Guidelines on Accreditation of CSOs and enumerated the requirements and steps for accreditation.

Flores also encouraged Civil Society Organizations, People’s Organizations, Non-Government Organizations and other barangay-based organizations or associations to apply for accreditation at the Sangguniang Bayan to be eligible for representation in the Local Special Bodies of the municipality.