Surigao City localizes UN sustainable development goals
By Susil D. Ragas
SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte (PIA) — Surigao City Mayor Pablo Yves L. Dumlao II presented the city’s pioneering efforts in localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the recent high-level forum on “Multilevel Governance for SDG Localization.”
Held at the United Nations Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, Mayor Dumlao emphasized Surigao City’s strong commitment to advancing the SDGs – the global agenda to end poverty, protect the planet, and promote peace and prosperity by integrating them into local planning and development efforts.
The local chief executive noted ongoing programs in housing and resilient settlements, including initiatives for indigenous communities such as the Sama Bajau, highlighting the best practice to motivate the Caraga Regional Development Council to pass a resolution encouraging other local government units (LGUs) in the region to adopt similar approaches to sustainable and inclusive development.
He also highlighted the city’s Voluntary Local Review (VLR) initiative, developed in collaboration with the UN Habitat, which tracks and assesses local progress on the SDGs.
“Surigao City is one of only four Philippine cities to have completed a VLR, and the first on the island of Mindanao,” he said.
He also shared that the city has localized the SDGs down to the household level, empowering families to monitor their own progress and actively contribute to broader community goals. “The SDGs will either win or lose at the local level—starting with families,” he added.
“Surigao City’s participation in the forum highlighted the Philippines’ continuing commitment to strengthening multilevel governance and advancing the global SDGs through local action,” said Ambassador Marie Charlotte G. Tang, Philippine ambassador to Kenya and permanent representative to UN Habitat.
For the United Nations (UN), the Sustainable Development Goals, comprising of 17 goals to be met by 2030, are a call for action by all countries – poor, rich and middle-income – to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection. (SDR, PIA Surigao del Norte with a report from the Philippine Embassy in Kenya)
