The Department of the Interior and Local Government – Cordillera Administrative Region (DILG-CAR) held a meeting last 25 March 2026 at the Burgos Conference Room, Saint Louis University for the Technical Working Group to talk about how to carry out their Civic Academy Society (CAS) program.
The CAS project aims to create complete learning modules for civil society groups, with a focus on three main areas: Values and Leadership, Local Governance Operation, and Soft Skills. These aim at giving civil society groups more power by helping them become better leaders, learn more about how local government works, and improve their social skills. This is to help civil society groups get a better understanding of governance and leadership by using both academic and real-world knowledge.
Interestingly, the program ushers collaboration among many different schools and organizations in Baguio City. These groups are working together to share their knowledge and resources, which will help the program succeed and last. It affirms how serious Baguio City’s academic community is about helping the region grow and teaching people about their rights and responsibilities. For this year 2026, Rev. Fr. Gilbert B. Sales, CICM, PhD, SLU President, will be the convenor for the project.
The collaborative undertaking reflects how important the involvement of the partner institutions are in making modules that are useful and impactful. This project not only makes community groups stronger, but it also fits with the bigger goal of encouraging participatory governance and long-term growth in the area. Component 1 lesson will simultaneously commence by June in Saint Louis University and Benguet State University.
This partnership is aligned with SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals and CICM Advocacies on Justice, Peace, Integrity of Creation, and Indigenous Peoples Advocacies. (Article and Photos by Dr. Joselito Gutierrez)
