The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP)[1], the umbrella organization of all leagues of local government units (LGUs) and locally elected officials in the country, supported by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the United Nations Philippines RePubliKo campaign, conducted a Round Table Discussion (RTD) entitled “Delivering Basic Services in Urbanizing Areas: Challenges, Prospects, and Areas for Reform”. This aimed to respond and initiate an in-depth discussion among key stakeholders to outline challenges, prospects, and areas of reform that can inform national and local strategies on urban development.                                                                                                                                   

Taking on the issue of urban development as a continuing challenge for local governments, the RTD focuses on the interface of the roles and responsibilities of national and local governments on service delivery amidst rising urbanization, particularly those outside of Metro Manila. In particular, the discussion was guided by the following questions:

•  As the urban development is increasing in the local governments, what are the possible issues, concerns and needs that might (a) hinder the urban development in the local governments, such as issues on food sustainability and agricultural and rural development; and (b) challenge the delivery of basic social services to their constituents, as population growth is projected?
• What are the existing national plans, projects and programs that address these issues and concerns on delivery of basic services in urban areas? What are the possible local plans, projects and programs that can complement these national interventions?
• What are possible national-local dialogues that would be helpful in developing key proposals and inputs of the local governments on ensuring the effective and efficient delivery of basic social services?

This RTD is part of the series of discussions under the DILG-UN RePubliKo-ULAP collaboration, covering various topics in line with the scope and priorities of the agreement among the three institutions. This was held on December 8, 2016 at Microtel by Wyndham, UP Technohub, Quezon City and was attended by a total of twenty-three participants from national government agencies, local government units, development partners, and member leagues. The table below lists the participating LGUs and agencies.