GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 27 Aug) – Eight local government units (LGUs) in Region 12 have received the prestigious Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) for showing improved performances in the implementation of the national government’s good governance policies and programs.
Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II personally conferred the awards to the recipient-LGUs on Tuesday in a ceremony held in Koronadal City.
The awardees are the provincial government of South Cotabato; the municipal governments of Magpet, Mlang and Tulunan in North Cotabato; Sto. Niño in South Cotabato; Kiamba in Sarangani; and Columbio and Bagumbayan in Sultan Kudarat.
Roxas acknowledged the eight LGUs, which were the first recipients of the SGLG in Region 12 since its launching last year, as models of good governance in the region.
“Your efforts to achieve and mainstream good governance practices are unprecedented and should be emulated by other LGUs,” he said.
He urged the awardees to sustain their current status and continually focus on improving their performances and overall operations, especially in the delivery of various services to their constituents.
Roxas said it is important for the LGUs to abide by the principles of the SGLG, which he described as among the most important initiatives of the DILG and the national government.
“LGUs are at the frontlines of governance and the first link of ordinary citizens to the national government so it is important for you to always push for measures that will improve your services and governance systems,” he said.
Reynaldo Bungubung, DILG Region 12 director, said the eight LGUs have all passed the criteria for the SGLG based on a series of evaluations they conducted.
He said the award specifically considered the results of their evaluation on the performance and accomplishments of the region’s LGUs in the last two years.
SGLG is the scaled-up version of the Seal of Good Housekeeping, a project that recognizes LGUs with good performance in internal housekeeping, particularly in the areas of local legislation, development planning, resource generation, resource allocation and utilization, customer service and human resource management and development, as well as in valuing the fundamentals of good governance.
The enhanced SGLG focuses on three core assessment areas and three other essential assessment areas.
The core assessment areas are good financial housekeeping, disaster preparedness and social protection while the essential assessment areas are business-friendliness and competitiveness, peace and order, and environmental management.
Along with the award, the recipient-LGUs received financial incentives through access to the national government’s Performance Challenge Fund (PCF).
South Cotabato province will receive an incentive of P7 million while the seven other municipalities will get P3 million each.
Vice Gov. Cecile Diel, who received the award for the provincial government, said the conferment of the SGLG is a manifestation that the local government’s efforts to mainstream good governance practices have been gaining ground.
She said the award is a big accomplishment for South Cotabato as it was the only province in the region who received the SGLG.
“We will make sure that this will be sustained and eventually institutionalized,” she added.