IPG is a capability-building center that develops and undertakes education and training program for NGOs, POs and local communities to enable them to effect participatory democracy, people-centered development and good local governance. It has been accredited by the Civil Service Commission as a training institute for local governance practitioners.

IPG was formed in February 1994 with the vision of providing a venue or an alternative route for reform politics and good governance away from the traditional politics of ‘patronage, clientelism and personality-based networks.’ It attempts to address the lack of ‘institutionalization’ that also breeds governance problems such as political instability, incoherent policy-making, corruption and lack of accountability of public officials, and the exclusion of ordinary, poor citizens from political processes.

Towards this vision, IPG initially worked in the area of policy reform advocacy on political and electoral reforms including laws on a meaningful proportional system of representation in Congress, a proposed anti-dynasty law barring political families from holding on to public office for an indefinite period of time, modernization of the electoral process and enactment into law of Constitutionally-mandated local sectoral representation in local government units.

IPG’s Good Governance Advocacy

PG’s local governance program started in 1997, coinciding with the five-year mandated review of the Local Government Code of 1991. IPG took the position that despite the weakness of the law in addressing the need for effective political decentralization, the law has strong provisions on people’s participation and claim-makingthat could be maximized.

Towards this end, IPG engaged in democratic local governance approaches at the village (barangay) level knowing fully well that real political power for grassroots

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