Butuan Mayor On Training To Korea

Butuan City (20 August) -- City Mayor Ferdinand Amante Jr. left Butuan on August 18, 2010 to join 14 other Mayors from other regions of the country to attend a14-day training from August 21 to September 3 in Local Administration Improvement to be held in Seongnam and Suwon, Korea. Participants will be housed at the KOIKA International Cooperation Center.

The South Korean government, through the Korea International Cooperating Agency (KOICA) will conduct the trainings that are aimed to help promote faster and more sustainable growth in the Philippines, and paved the way for future collaboration and aid opportunities in particular cities or municipalities.

The 15 participants from the Philippines will undergo a short study program with the objectives of offering Korean perspective of national development by introducing Korean development experiences, to enhance understanding of Korean local administrative system and to promote better understanding and more friendly relations between Korea and participating countries.

It was learned, that KOICA offered to invite 132 Filipinos for 2010 to Korea to attend 36 training courses, five of which were designed exclusively for Filipinos, one of which is the Local Administration Improvement that Mayor Amante will be attending.

The trainings offered by KOIKA are the following: National Integrated Vehicle Management and Inspection System Development, Economic Development in Mindanao, Immigration Management, and Railway Management and Operations.

"The interaction of Mayor Amante and Korean experts may help identify areas where the Korean government can provide interventions as well as for us in the city government to adopt Korean best practices in relation to effective governance," said Vice Mayor Lawrence Fortun.

The Vice Mayor was appointed to act as the Officer in Charge from August 18-20 and shall seat as the Acting Mayor of Butun City on August 21 until September 3, 2010. (dxBN-Radyo ng Bayan Butuan/PIA-Caraga)