Strengthening its efforts to align initiatives with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Surigao City held a two-day workshop on July 18-19 to identify priorities and gain insights from national and global experiences.
Participated by more than 40 LGU technical officers and staff from the various departments/offices of the city, most of whom have been designated as SDG focal points, the activity aimed to increase the city’s understanding of SDGs, determine how programs of projects of the city departments contribute to the global goals, identify priority SDGs for the city, draft SDG-based budget plans, and glean from experiences of other cities.
The event serves as part of UN-Habitat’s Agenda 2030-SDG Localization Project which aims to advance the localization of the SDGs in selected countries by harnessing the potential of Voluntary Local Reviews (VLR). As the only city in the Philippines selected for this global project, Surigao City is supported by UN-Habitat in enhancing its development trajectory and ensuring that growth is sustainable, inclusive, and aligned with global best practices.

Surigao City Vice Mayor Alfonso Casurra opened the activity with an opening message that encouraged the city’s SDG technical working group to maximize the learning opportunity in order to increase their efficiency and effectiveness in planning and implementing programs.
UN-Habitat Philippines Country Programme Manager Christopher Rollo facilitated the workshop where he emphasized the importance of SDGs to cities. Rollo likewise guided the participants in the activities where the city department representatives identified SDG targets and indicators and planned for SDG-based programming and budgeting.
Meanwhile, Uriel Eugenio Correos of the City Planning and Development Office discussed the importance of SDGs as reflected in the State of the Local Government Report, and its contribution to achieving the city development targets.
Sharing localization experiences
Having led the conduct of a VLR in his city, Wilfredo E. Prilles, Jr. of Naga City’s Planning and Development Office elaborated on how the localization of global goals has improved the LGU’s programs, projects, and activities. He further encouraged his counterparts in Surigao that the process would help the city to focus on the pressing development gaps and address the most pressing needs of their communities.
Sharing global perspectives, representatives from the UN-Habitat headquarters also shared experiences of VLRs done in Nepal. Daniel Githira also did an orientation on the Urban Monitoring Framework and how the database system facilitated the VLR process in Udon Thani, Thailand.


SDGs bannered in local governance report
During Surigao City’s 2024 State of Local Governance Report held on June 27, Mayor Pablo Yves Dumlao II emphasized the LGU’s contributions to achieve the SDGs.
“We will be cross-matching our accomplishments with the SDGs and determine the essential ones that needs to be addressed in the local level. In this manner, we will be able to determine and accomplish a holistic development aligned with global goals, not only for our people but also for our dear planet,” said Mayor Dumlao.

Supported by Mayor Dumlao, this SDG localization initiative also coincides with the city’s current partnership with UN-Habitat on the Huy-anan nan Bajau sa Surigao (Home for the Bajaus in Surigao), a project rebuilding the community of the indigenous Sama-Bajau community who were affected by Typhoon Rai in 2021.
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