About LCP Secretariat

Mandaluyong city mayor Benjamin De Castro Abalos, Jr or Mayor Benhur is the current President of the League of Cities of the Philippines. He is also the President of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, the umbrella organization of all local government leagues.

Under his term, he vows to “strengthen the cohesive force in the League, advocate the concerns of members and continue concerted efforts in making the organization more relevant to the times".

CALBAYOG CITY MAYOR MEL SENEN S. SARMIENTO or Mayor Mel is the Secretary-General of the League of Cities of the Philippines.

VONIER E. DELOS REYES (Von) is the LCP Finance, Property and Logistics Officer. A graduate of accountancy in the Philippine School of Business Administration where he also bagged the Most Outstanding Graduate Award on April 2002.  

Von has consistent years of accounting and finance work in various multinational companies. His areas of interest include accounting, taxation, administration and organizational development.

Felisa N. Cortenas-Deogracias (Fely) is the LCP Records and Documentation Officer. A pioneer staff in the LCP Secretariat, Fely has been employed in the organization for 18 years. She manages documents entry to the LCP and ensures all official documents are secured and filed in a systematic and orderly manner.

MARY JOY SJ. PAYUMO (Joy) is the Administrative and Human Resource Officer. She is the officer-in-charge to look after the welfare and human capacity development of LCP employees. She is a graduate of BS Agribusiness in Camarines Sur State Agricultural College in Pili, Camarines Sur. Joy has consistent 10 years of administrative and procurement experience that include private and international organizations.

FINA N. ONG (Fina) is LCP Junior Policy Officer and the newest addition to the growing LCP Secretariat family. She is a graduate of Bachelor in Science in Public Administration and Governance from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. Prior to working in the LCP, she had served its student intern. She believes that development must start from the local government units. Her areas of interest include Local Government Code amendment, health,  

As the LCP Policy Officer, she assists and coordinates in the LCP policy development work through research, policy analysis, policy advocacy campaigns, and technical assistance.

VERONICA C. HITOSIS (Veron) is the Program Officer for Policy and Legislation heading the three-member Policy Unit that is tasked to draft policy recommendations on different congressional bills and national government issuances that affect local governance. She is the LCP focal person in the policy project with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities. She handles issues related to transportation, Local Government Code amendment, housing, and internal revenue allotment, and local taxation.  

Veron is a political science graduate of the University of the Philippines Diliman. She obtained graduate units in International Relations in the same university focusing on politics of the European Union. Recently, she has been awarded a full scholarship by the Government of Japan to pursue Master’s Degree in Public Policy at the National Institute of Policy Studies from September 2009 to September 2010 in Tokyo, Japan.

Neil G. Ortile (Neil) is the Senior Policy Officer of the League of Cities of the Philippines. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration from the University of the Philippines. He is currently pursuing a Juris Doctor degree in the same university.

He first worked in the League as Junior Policy Officer. His areas of interest include policy analysis with focus on the local government, local fiscal administration, local and regional development and lobbying and advocacy.

CEAZAR RYAN C. AQUINO (Ceazar) is the LCP Junior Program Officer. He works closely with the UNFPA in implementing various Reproductive Health-related activities among select Philippine Cities. Having served the Philippine Collegian as a news writer in his college days, he contributes feature and news stories to the Advocate, the quarterly magazine of the League. He also provides photos for the League and other internationally funded publications being an amateur photographer. 

Ceazar takes part in coordinating with the World Bank in the review of the previous City Development Strategies executed in the Philippines. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science at the University of the Philippines – Diliman and is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the same university.

JAIME PAULO B. MORA (Paulie) is the Program Officer for Advocacy, Marketing, and Networking. He performs development communications support in the overall LCP strategic communications framework that translates into advocacy campaigns work, social marketing, publications and knowledge management, and institutional networking. In the LCP, he also manages and facilitates most of MDG localization programs and initiatives among member-cities and development partners.  

Paulie is a cum laude journalism graduate from the University of Santo Tomas. He is an MA candidate in Social Development at the Asian Social Institute. His areas of interest include development communication, urban sociology, rural to urban migration, local governance dynamics, and disaster risk reduction.