Local Governments, Civil Society, Democratization, and Development 127 Building capacities and eliciting participation Given their new responsibilities, LGUs were also provided with technical and capability building support from the national government agencies (NGAs). The same form of assistance, as well as additional funding support, was obtained by select LGUs, especially those in less developed areas, from multilateral and bilateral funding agencies. Some of the bigger grants to LGUs came from foreign aid agencies, chiey, the United States Agency for International Development, the Australian Agency for International Development, and the Canadian International Development Agency. The rst few years of decentralization also saw an increased awareness, at least on the part of organized groups in civil society, of the possibilities of engaging local instrumentalities of the state in pursuit of collective ends. A number of CSOs (non-governmental and people's organizations) at the local level, applied for accreditation and a few were subsequently included as members in the local development council (Tigno, 1993) (Brillantes1994). Private sector participation in local special bodies such as the Pre-Qualication, Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC), the Local Health Board (LHB), and the Local School Board (LSB), were also secured as soon as the LGUs started to convene these local special bodies. In its 11th Rapid Field Appraisal, The Asia Foundation (2011) notes that citizen participation in local governance processes continues to be signicant but mostly at the sectoral level (Local School Board [LSB), Local Health Board [LHB], Agriculture and Fisheries Council [AFC], Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Council [FARMC). The report, however, noted that “meaningful participation of NGOs and POs at the Local Development Council could still be improved.” As mentioned earlier, under the Aquino administration, CSO participation in local development planning widened with the introduction of the Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB). Citizens' feedback and exemplary performances The appraisal of citizens of local government processes has been generally satisfactory. The survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations in September 2009 shows that: Ÿ close to 7 (68%) out of 10 Filipinos were satised with the quality of local governance Ÿ a plurality to signicant majority satisfaction with the performance of local government on local issues from social welfare to promoting public-private collaboration Ÿ among local governance stakeholders, the Mayor obtained the highest trust rating (78%), while other local governance stakeholders (barangay captain, members of the barangay council, the police, NGOs, and business associations garnered plurality to a signicant majority trust rating