The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) drives the government’s COVID-19 efforts to the people through the first virtual Dagyaw 2021 Open Government Town Hall Meeting underscoring the vaccination program towards the goal of reaching population protection.

“Ang Dagyaw ay isang magandang pagkakataon upang maabot ng pamahalaan ang ating mga kababayan. It’s a platform of convergence for both the people and the government to discuss relevant social issues, this time around tackling the government’s latest efforts in vaccination against COVID-19 and its implication to reaching population protection,” said DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año.

Dagyaw is a series of open dialogues that aim to clarify government programs that affect local communities and gives a platform to regular citizens to raise local concerns to senior government officials.

Año said that Dagyaw 2021 is an opportunity for the government to change the narrative of its fight against COVID-19 directing its message to the people. He said that it likewise aims to hold in-depth discussions with stakeholders and shed light on timely issues involving the ongoing pandemic and how the government addresses them.

“With the country’s current political environment of mudslinging, dahil sa papalapit na eleksyon. It is integral that the people are aware of the government’s COVID-19 efforts. Kailangang sa gitna ng ingay ng pulitika ay malaman ng mga tao na ang pamahalaan ay nagtatrabaho,” Año said.

Año said that the opening salvo of the Dagyaw 2021 will be on Friday, October 15, 2021 at 2:00 PM via Zoom teleconferencing platform and will be live-streamed on the DILG Philippines Facebook page. He said that it will put into premium relaying to the citizens the government’s plan and its progress to attaining population protection through its vaccination program.

The DILG Chief said that citizens are urged to participate and be acquainted with the government’s COVID-19 work through the first Dagyaw 2021 episode which seeks to answer questions such as: What is population protection and why is it important in the fight against COVID-19? How long are we in meeting our goals for the vaccination program? How does the government plan to reach population protection?

Año said that the initial Dagyaw 2021 episode invited relevant resource persons coming from various sectors such as the government, academe, business, and civil society namely Food and Drug Administration Director General Dr. Rolando Enrique Domingo; OCTA Research founder Dr. Ranjit Rye; Makati Business Club Chairperson Edgar O. Chua; and, Coalition for Bicol Development Chairperson Araw Chavez.

“Sa bahagi ng DILG, Dagyaw 2021 is envisioned to create an avenue for the people to air their sentiments and for that to be addressed by experts. Kaya muli ay inaanyayahan natin ang ating mga kababayan na makilahok sa ating unang Dagyaw episode,” he said.

The public can join Dagyaw 2021 by visiting the official Facebook page of the Philippine Open Government Partnership for details and announcements or by checking the DILG, Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) social media accounts for more information.

Dagyaw in provinces

Meanwhile, Año encouraged all provincial local governments nationwide to hold their own version of Dagyaw in their respective jurisdictions “to bridge key players in local governance and the public towards improved delivery of public service.”

“This is an opportune time to be aggressive with our factual information campaign kaya naman we are urging the provincial governments to initiate their own Dagyaw. Isang malaking hakbang ang dayalogong ito para sa lalo pang pagpapabuti ng kalidad ng paglilingkod sa pamahalaang lokal,” he urged.

Through DILG Memorandum Circular 2021-106 released just last month, Año enjoined provincial governments to hold one Dagyaw town hall meeting between October until the end of the year.

“Maaari itong gawing pagkakataon upang makapagbigay ng State of Local Governance sa inyong lalawigan at magkaroon ng pamppublikong dayalogo upang mas mapaganda at mapahusay ang pagganap ng tungkulin ng pamahalaag lokal,” Año said in the memorandum.

Original Article at: https://dilg.gov.ph/news/DILG-tackles-COVID-19-vax-program-population-protection-in-1st-Dagyaw-2021-town-hall-meeting/NC-2021-1200