IT WASN'T easy at the start, and people like Sequina were skeptical that the newly elected mayor would be able to work with the doctor and community leaders almost like equals. The health center was a sorry mess and health workers were demoralized. But the mayor, said Sequina, was driven by a "mission and vision" just like the vice mayor, who understood quickly enough that waiting sheds could wait but health couldn't.

One of the first things Roberto Salinas did as mayor of Catigbian was to ensure that the town's two ambulances were used only for medical emergencies and not to ferry officials to fiestas and functions.

The program encourages the integration of health in the development agenda through needs identified in the barangay-development plans. It also ensures greater transparency, accountability, and efficiency by allowing spaces for participation by the volunteer doctor who is expected to stay for four years, the community leaders, and other governance stakeholders in developing the town's health agenda.

During our visit, we found the Triple Union barangay health workers — all volunteers — preparing to conduct one of their regular village visits to give lectures on breastfeeding, sanitation, and the proper use of toilets. It was but another busy day, but we noticed a lightheartedness in the way they went about their tasks.

We asked one volunteer why they seemed so happy. Her reply: "Not only do we now have a new health center and renovated public market, we also have a doctor who even goes to the remote sitios and a mayor who believes that people's health should be a governance priority."

Soon the same decrepit van that brought us there heaved into view. But before we could board it, one of the health workers came up to us and said, "The changes you see here…the newly-painted office buildings and health center…are the physical ones but what had happened here in Catigbian is really all about changing our own mindsets and attitudes about how to govern a town."

Suffice it to say that like any other Catigbianon, we'd fallen in love with the town.

As we headed for Cebu on the last leg of our journey, it dawned on us with amazing clarity that local governance is not about managing the affairs of the community, implementing programs, or crafting policies.

Sourcebooks and handbooks for local chief executives define governance as the act or process of governing through the exercise of governmental powers such as police, taxation, and eminent domain in the maintenance of the affairs of the state. It is also argued that governance is not the sole domain of government and that there should be a continuing interaction and cooperation of civil-society organizations and the private sector with government in crafting policy and implementing programs.

It is said as well that the context of governance arises from the understanding that sovereignty resides in the people and that public officials citizens elect and to whom they delegate power and responsibility are merely stewards of this power and are therefore accountable to them. It should also be understood that governance and participation are mutually reinforcing.

From our brief encounters with local folk in several small communities around the country, we've come to the conclusion that local governance is all about developing the capacities of people to fulfill their obligations and claim their rights while opening spaces for their meaningful participation. It is all about harnessing the potential of citizens to build community by sharing a dream. It is all about leaders who listen to the people they lead and who understand that steering well is better than rowing hard. The good thing about it is that it is happening in many parts of the Philippines.

Eternally optimistic, we are hoping the same thing could happen at the national level.

Victor & Adelle were the pseudonym used by Red Batario and Girlie Sevilla Alvarez when they were writing the column "On the Road with Victor & Adelle" for the Manila Chronicle. They currently head the Center for Community Journalism and Development (CCJD) as executive director and program director, respectively. They also consider themselves occasional journalists, since much of their time is now devoted to training other journalists.