Former Vice President and current Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo visited the campus of Asian Institute of Management on May 8, 2026 to meet with academic program directors and discuss possible collaboration between the City Government of Naga and the institute.

During the meeting, Robredo shared the development challenges faced by Naga City, noting that despite being geographically landlocked and constrained by infrastructure limitations, the city continues to pursue reforms aimed at improving governance and public service delivery.

A major focus of the discussion was the need to accelerate digital transformation in local government operations. Robredo noted that many city government processes remain manual and underscored the importance of digitization in improving efficiency, transparency, and responsiveness in public services.

The discussions also explored possible technical collaboration related to the People’s Survival Fund (PSF), the national financing mechanism for climate adaptation projects, as Naga City prepares submissions ahead of the May 29 deadline.

Representatives from AIM shared insights on leadership, sustainability, public management, and digital governance, while discussing possible capacity-building initiatives for senior city officials through the institute’s degree and executive education programs.

“The climate discussions are landing in the middle of a food and fuel crisis, with another El Niño looming. Building climate strategies under those conditions isn’t a technical writing exercise — it requires bringing together stakeholders and expertise that do not usually sit in the same room. That’s what AIM and Naga can do together,” said Chad Briggs, academic program director of AIM’s Executive Master in Disaster Risk and Crisis Management program.

The meeting reflected a shared commitment between AIM and the City Government of Naga to strengthen local governance, sustainability, and innovation through academic-practice partnerships. I via Jason Neola