CALAMBA CITY, Laguna — The Regional Assessment Team (RAT) of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Region IV-A is now ready for the crucial phases of the 2017 Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG).
Assistant Regional Director and RAT Chairperson Ariel O. Iglesia, CESO V said that all matters relative to the assessment and calibration phase of the 2017 SGLG are now in place following the successful conduct of the provincial and regional SGLG orientations.
In preparation for the assessment process of this year’s award program, the DILG IV-A has conducted rounds of provincial orientations during the first two weeks of May which served as an avenue to familiarize the field officers with the new provisions of the policy and implementing guidelines of the 2017 SGLG.
This was immediately followed by a regional orientation held on May 16, 2017, for members of the RAT who will facilitate the data gathering, validation, and certification of provincial governments scheduled on May 30 to June 8, 2017.
Among the topics discussed during the orientations were the implementation guidelines, particularly the new assessment areas and criteria; documentary review process; and timeline of the regional assessment and validation process. Proper filling out of data capture forms and assignment of roles were also tackled during the provincial and regional rollouts.
The RAT which is composed of Provincial/ Highly Urbanized City (HUC) Directors, DILG field officers, and Civil Society Organizations’ (CSO) representatives, together with a documenter, takes the lead in the assessment, validation, and certification of city, municipal, and provincial governments. Said team is also responsible for the facilitation of data gathering, review of local government units’ documents, and onsite inspection as part of the assessment process.
To ensure the integrity of the validation and assessment results, the DILG IV-A tapped one of its partner agencies, Cavite State University, and partner CSO Tanggol Kalikasan Inc., as members of the RAT.
More Stringent Criteria
The 147 LGUs in the region are expected to undergo a more stringent assessment following the recent upgrade of the criteria and addition of new indicators to the awards program.
For 2017, the DILG has scaled up its overall assessment criteria from “3+1” to “4+1” principle wherein an LGU need to meet all the requirements provided under the four core areas namely Financial Administration, Disaster Preparedness, Social Protection, and the new additional area Peace and Order.
As provided under the DILG Memorandum Circular 2017-53, the LGU must also pass at least one essential area among the areas of Business-Friendliness and Competitiveness; Environmental Protection; and Tourism, Culture, and the Arts.
These new areas have been added to the assessment criteria in light of the national government’s thrusts, organizational commitments, and emerging good governance frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the Philippine Development Plan.
All qualified LGUs will be conferred with a 2017 SGLG marker and a cash incentive through the Performance Challenge Fund (PCF) to finance their local development initiatives. A special distinction meanwhile will be given to LGUs which have consistently passed all the assessment areas from 2015.
Conferment of the Seal will be held in October as part of the anniversary celebration of the Local Government Code.
Last year, a total of three provincial governments, four city governments and 10 municipal governments in the Calabarzon Region were able to pass the coveted Seal of Good Local Governance. (FSC/R4A)
