CCEF attended the learning event entitled “DEV Talks: A social development forum” held at the Cebu Grand Hotel last August 22 and 23, 2016. The forum was a convergence of development and empowered voices that tackled relevant information, trends and innovations in community development and promoted sharing of best practices among Local Government Units (LGUs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and among change leaders in society. The forum was organized by the Central Visayas Network of NGOs (CENVISNET) and the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) in collaboration with the Provincial Government of Cebu.

An array of resource speakers shared their experiences within six thematic areas: Good Governance, Disaster Governance/Resiliency, Environmental Conservation, Safety & Security, Social Protection, and Social Enterprise. Under the Environmental Conservation theme, Mr. Roland Tabuñag, the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer (MENRO) of Liloan, presented Liloan's Environment Code and highlighted the Purok System, an organizational set-up referring to the smallest government unit of a municipality, which is an efficient strategy to implement the local government’s Environmental Sustainability Development Plan (Ordinance # 2015-03). This program was recognized and awarded by RAFI as one of the best practices conducted by an LGU. Liloan is a CCEF partner municipality under the UNICO Ecosystems Monitoring and Evaluation Project for mangrove rehabilitation/coastal forests conservation.

Newly elected Vice President of the Philippines, Ms. Leni Robredo, gave a talk of encouragement on good governance on the second day. This was followed by a workshop where participants shared their issues and concerns regarding the six thematic areas. The workshop was concluded with a presentation of the highlighted concerns and issues.