The University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance is bringing back the U.P. Public Lectures on the Philippine Presidency and Administration as the Aquino III Administration winds up its 6-year term of office.
Conceptualized in 1989 by then University of the Philippines President Jose V. Abueva, the U.P. Public Lectures on the Philippine Presidency and Administration provides a platform in which the incumbent political leadership can present publicly a self-assessment of its own government and administration during its term and for the members of the academe, civil society, business and media to give their alternative assessments of its accomplishments.
It serves as a mechanism to identify strengths and weaknesses in policies, programs and other measures applied as solutions to our national problems and to generate relevant lessons, reasoned criticisms and sound policy options that can be most useful for succeeding administrations.
Dean Maria Fe Villamejor-Mendoza of NCPAG stresses the importance of the Public Lecture for UP and the nation as a whole, saying that “through this assessment, the University of the Philippines seeks to help the nation learn from and build upon its past and present experiences in nation building, public administration and governance, democratization and development. It is in line with its mandate to help the government identify key concerns, formulate responsive policies regarding these concerns, and give advice and recommendations to Congress and the President of the Philippines.
“Furthermore, the activity is a mechanism to exact accountability from the incumbent administration and encourage the public reporting of its plans, programs, accomplishments, challenges and lessons in governing and governance,” adds Mendoza.
The lecture series will be held for six days on four consecutive weeks and will be divided according to five cabinet clusters: Good Governance and Anti-Corruption (April 14, 2016), Human Development and Poverty Reduction (April 19 and 21, 2016), Security, Justice and Peace (April 28, 2016), Youth, Women and Climate Change and Adaptation (April 26, 2016) and Economic Development (May 3, 2016), all at 1-5 pm. A valedictory of the President himself in June is also being arranged.
Both cabinet secretaries or their representatives and alternative assessors from the academe, civil society and development sector were invited to present their reports and assessments in this public lecture.
Co-organizers include the Center for Leadership, Citizenship and Democracy, Center for Local and Regional Governance, Center for Policy and Executive Development, ,NCPAG Student Council, Philippine Society for Public Administration, the Association of Schools of Public Administration and Governance. Partners are UP Public Administration Research Foundation, San Miguel Corporation and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. TV5 is the official media partner.
The activity will be held at the Assembly Hall of the NCPAG and is open to the public for free.