TRAINING OF BARANGAY OFFICIALS BEFORE OATH TAKING

Most barangay officials have no understanding or working knowledge of effective governance after election to the position. It creates a situation where basic mandates of a government are compromised risking public security, safety, promoting a degrading socio-psychological, economic and physical environment. The lack of training results in their own mental and physical health deterioration from stress. They should have basic governance training before assumption of office. One solution is to require passing following training components before election and before oath taking: 1. Basic barangay organization, roles of officials, functional councils, governance mandates and coordinating procedures, 2. Occupational health and safety awareness for barangay officials, 3. Alternative dispute resolution modalities, mediation procedures, and 4. Robert’s Rules of Order. We have a democratic system wherein anyone could run and the winners could assume public office, whether we like it or not. There is nothing that we could do about that. But there is still something that we could do, and that is to require training before election and before oath taking. Some candidates and some winners might object to this idea, but I think they could be convinced to cooperate, especially if they can see that the majority of the people supports it. IKE SENERES/WITH INPUTS FROM KAGAWAD ANDREW ARRIOLA/09088877282/1-11-2024