How much hard work does it take for local government units (LGUs) to become a Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) awardee?
According to Department of the Interior and Local Government Officer-in-Charge Catalino S. Cuy, LGUs have to go the extra mile to get the highly coveted SGLG because they need to comply with “not one, not two, not even three, but four core areas plus one essential area.”
“They (LGUs) really have to put in a lot of hard work to get the Seal, not just because it is something that will give them prestige, but more importantly, because the people deserve good governance and the quality services from the government,” says Cuy.
To qualify for the SGLG, LGUs must comply with the ‘4+1’ assessment criteria. LGUs ought to pass four core areas namely financial administration, disaster preparedness, social protection, and the new additional area peace and order.
They must also pass at least one essential area, either, business friendliness and competitiveness; tourism, culture and the arts; or environmental protection.
This year, 448 LGUs managed to pass the test of good governance and clinch the Seal. They will be recognized during the awarding rites at the Manila Hotel today.
Of the 448 LGUs, 28 are provinces, 61 are cities, and 359 are municipalities.
“To the SGLG awardees, good job! Keep on making your constituents proud of your good governance achievement and happy as well for the services that you continue to deliver,” Cuy says.
He also calls on other LGUs that have not yet made it year to level up and set their sight for the Seal.
“Do not be left behind and join the bandwagon of good governance by aiming for the SGLG,” he says.
SGLG awardees are conferred with a SGLG marker to be placed in their provincial, city, or municipal halls and a Performance Challenge Fund (PCF), an incentive in millions of pesos to be used for local development projects.
For 2017, Region 1 (Ilocos Region) got the most awards with a total of 68 followed by Region 3 (Central Luzon) with 56 awardees. Region 6 (Western Visayas) came in third with 46 LGU passers.
Meanwhile, the number of LGUs per region that stepped up to the criteria of SGLG is as follows: 35 in Region 4-A (CALABARZON), 29 in Region 10 (Northern Mindanao), 28 in Region 2(Cagayan Valley), 26 in Region 8 (Eastern Visayas), 23 in Cordillera Administrative Region, and 20 LGUs each in Regions 4-B (MIMAROPA) and 13 (CARAGA).
There are also 18 LGU awardees in Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula), 14 in Region 11 (Davao Region), 14 in Region 12 (SOCCSKSARGEN), 12 in Region 7 (Central Visayas), 11 in Region 5 (Bicol Region), and 8 in National Capital Region (NCR).
