DILG chief feels ‘encouraged’ as survey says local governments most trusted

DILG Secretary and Liberal Party frontrunner for 2016 Mar Roxas (Photo from Roxas’ official Facebook page)

MANILA — Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II on Thursday feels encouraged that Filipinos have regained their trust in their local governments upon seeing the results of the 2014 Philippine Trust Index survey on Monday.

“We in the department are even more motivated to do our job knowing that citizens trust our partners at the local level,” Roxas said in a statement.

According to the survey conducted by EON Inc., an affiliate of the renowned Edelman firm, the informed Filipino public (i.

e. those have at least 3 years of tertiary education and have access of to print, online and broadcast media) gave local governments a 15 percent rating, surpassing the Office of the President by one percent and the Supreme Court by three. The general public also gave their local governments a proximate rating, at 17 percent, tying with the Cabinet.

There were 1,626 respondents to the survey, Filipinos aged 25-65 across different socioeconomic classifications.

The DILG, for its part, has many projects and programs with local government units lined up for the last quarter, including a citywide launch of an anti-criminal campaign in partnership with the Philippine National Police (PNP), the finalization and implementation of the grassroots participatory budgeting and the ongoing rehabilitation efforts in areas struck by the earthquake and super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) last year.

“Many challenges lie ahead of us. A lot of things to do. We appreciate the moral support from our partners and allies in introducing and sustaining more reforms,” the DILG chief remarked.