Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very pleased to welcome you to (place of convention) today and to open this

important convention on Local Governance. We are well aware of the lengths weve all taken to get to where we stand today, let alone the things our nation have suffered over the previous year. In times of severe economic challenges, it is particularly important that our commitment to achieving a truly single advocacy is reaffirmed. As we all understand, a well-functioning Local Government Unit generates many benefits, including improvement of the quality of life through more efficient, effective and adequate delivery of public services. What we have achieved so far is indisputable and it is often taken for granted. People often focus on perceived difficulties we have had through the years. But it is important to acknowledge the huge benefits of a well reinforced General Services Office. For one, in the mandate provided in RA 7160 otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, I believe I speak for all of us here when I say, that we are an indispensable arm in carrying out the purpose of the Provincial Government. Needless to say, with the privilege of having authority is our implied duty to strictly scrutinize the proper disbursement of public funds. Having said that, we can all agree with the necessity of the procurement arm in the exercise of our functions. Along with the administration of the General Services Office, we were tasked to be a necessary aid for the promotion of good governance and its effort to adhere to the principle of transparency, accountability, equity, efficiency, and economy in its procurement process. From small items like a paper clip to a big equipment like a bulldozer, the GSO should administer procurement in a competitive and transparent manner, going through public bidding and extending equal opportunity to enable private contracting parties who are eligible and qualified to participate. Further, RA 9184 otherwise known as the Revised Procurement Act seeks to implement a procurement process simple enough to uniformly apply to all government procurement, and made adaptable enough to cope with the advancement of modern technology, to ensure an effective and efficient method from procurement to disposal. Those are but a few of the things we share in common as members of the General Services Office of our respective provinces, cities and municipalities. We have always strived for the excellent performance of our duties and functions and have over the years devised independent approaches which may have or havent worked in our favour. In theory, we all have had our fair share of testing out the waters. However, we are here no longer as individual GSOs but as an organization, stronger and wiser, not just by experience but more importantly through our dedication to public service. In the short time that we would be together, we would all be like individual puzzle pieces, necessary and indispensable in creating the whole picture. Today, is not just a day to listen but a day to speak up, share our ideas and impart our best practices. That way, we can support each other in the amelioration of our cause. In addition, we shall also assist lower class LGUs without permanent GSO so that we could all work toward an

onward motion and positive overtures. With disasters striking one after another, we need each others support and accord, now more than ever. Finally, as Theodore Roosevelt said, It is essential that there should be organization of labour. This is an era of organization. Capital organizes and therefore labour must organize. We are not individuals trying to impress another individual but we are in fact a single unit with the responsibility that could make or break a nation on our hands. First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination, and with the right mind-set, success is but inevitable. As our theme suggests, Throwback to the future, we shall dive back through the years of our existence, take out that which is moot en academic and keep those relative practices along with a few innovations for the future of local governance.