Local government units in the Calabarzon Region went through rigorous assessment by the DILG IV-A as the annual search for exemplar LGUs promoting good governance commenced.
From May 16– June 30, Regional Assessment Team (RAT) composed of Cluster Heads, Local Government Operations Officers (LGOO) and Civil Society Organizations Representatives went to different cities and municipalities in the region to validate and assess their performance across several areas based on the prescribed criteria of this year’s Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG).
A separate assessment team, meanwhile, composed of the Assistant Regional Director and the Provincial Directors also conducted the same level of assessment to five provincial governments of the region.
Said teams conversed with key officials to validate the responses initially provided by the local governments in the Data Capture Forms (DCF). They also visited key facilities such as the Local Economic and Investment Office; Provincial Government Hospitals; and Sanitary Landfills to validate compliance to specific SGLG indicators
The RAT 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 two of its partner agencies, Cavite State University, and partner CSO Tanggol Kalikasan Inc. as third party RAT members.
In his message during one of the provincial assessment rounds, RAT Chairperson and Assistant Regional Director expressed hope that the region would set a high turn-out of SGLG passers this year.
Calibration Phase
The data and responses gathered throughout the assessment and validation phase will be encoded in the new Local Governance Performance Management System Portal for access of the National Validation Team. Potential LGU passers identified in the calibration phase will undergo another round of assessment to be conducted by the national assessment team composed of members from other DILG Regional Offices.
Pre-assessment
In preparation for the assessment process of this year’s awards 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.
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.
More Stringent Criteria
The 147 LGUs in the region went through 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 Sendai Framework.
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 region were able to pass the coveted Seal of Good Local Governance.
The SGLG, one of the Department’s flagship programs, symbolizes integrity and good performance of local governments through continuing governance reform and sustained local development. It is a progressive assessment system adopted by the Department to give distinction to remarkable local government performance across several areas.
