CLARK FREEPORT – Hermosa Municipal Mayor Jopet Inton recently joined Mariveles Mayor Ace Jello Concepcion and other local chief executives from Central Luzon together with their municipal health officers who earned their certificates in the Municipal Leadership and Governance Program (MLGP) of the Development Academy of the Philippines.
MLGP was conducted in partnership with the Zuellig Family Foundation and the Department of Health Regional Office under the Health Leadership and Governance Program through Development Academy of the Philippines Graduate School of Public and Development Management as their academic partner.
MLGP is a one-year leadership program for Local Chief Executives (LCEs) and Municipal Health Officers (MHOs) which is supplemented by coaching and mentoring sessions from the DOH Representatives during the practicum.
It aims to develop and transform the LCEs and MHOs to become bridging leaders and to create an immediate impact on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) particulartly those pertaining to health by improving the local health systems of their municipalities.
This program requires the participants to complete the 4-day Module 1 sessions, 6-month practicum, 4-day Module 2 sessions and another 6-month practicum before they can graduate.
The final component of MLGP is the Colloquium. Through this, LCEs and MHOs are able to reflect on their leadership journey, highlight their achievements, health indicators and lessons learned during the one year period.
It is composed of two components: (1) Reflective Integration which consist primarily of a guided self-reflection on one’s personal vision and practice of public service, interpersed with inputs in the form of reflective questions; and (2) the Colloquium Ceremony and Awarding where LCEs deliver their public narratives followed by a panel discussion to assess understanding and application of Bridging Leadership.
The MLGP is a leadership program for mayors and municipal health officers who are expected to improve their municipal health indicators and engage other local stakeholders.
Some of its objectives include the training of local chief executives and local health officers on Bridging Leadership competencies; improve local health systems to make them more responsive to the needs for MCH, FP and TB prevention and control; increase community participation and health- seeking behavior in target areas through improved local health systems and local health leadership.
The program’s goal is to improve health outcomes in the areas of maternal and child health (MCH), family planning (FP) and tuberculosis (TB) by enhancing leadership and governance capabilities of local chief executives and local health officers.