DAVAO ORIENTAL – The Province of Davao Oriental has been recognized as among the country’s top performers in the implementation of the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s Performance Challenge Fund.
Governor Nelson Dayanghirang received the recognition handed over by DILG’s Undersecretary for Operations Epimaco Densing III during the Performance Challenge Fund Summit held on November 8 in Manila.
During the summit, Governor Nelson Dayanghirang was given the opportunity to share Davao Oriental’s best practices in the implementation of the PCF before a crowd of more than two hundred participants consisting of Central and Regional PCF Management Teams, Local Chief Executives of consistent Seal of Local Good Governance passer LGUs, and representatives from various stakeholders and media practitioners.
During his talk, Governor Dayanghirang discussed the impacts of the PCF not only in improving and creating sustainable communities but also in further espousing effective, transparent, and efficient governance.
As an incentive given to LGUs who successfully passed the SGLG, the PCF has been helping finance many more development projects of the LGUs.
PCF PROJECTS
For Davao Oriental, being a consistent SGLG awardee since 2014 during the stint of Former Governor Corazon Malanyaon, had used the Performance Challenge Fund worth P14 million to spruce up the development of the province’s banner tourism destination – the Mount Hamiguitan World Heritage Park in the Municipality of San Isidro, situated at the foot of the province’s crown jewel, the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, which is the first and only place in Mindanao declared as a world heritage site by the UNESCO. Through the PCF, additional amenities were constructed.
“The incentive fund did not only greatly help in the preservation of our world-renowned Mount Hamiguitan, as the wildlife sanctuary has now become one of the top ecotourism destinations in the country, holding a bundle of solutions to local poverty,” the Governor said.
The following years, in 2016 and 2017, Davao Oriental again bagged the Seal. Governor Dayanghirang utilized the PCF worth P7 million in the construction of safe and Potable Water System that benefitted many people in the two villages of Manay town and one village in Lupon town.
With the constructed water systems, abundant water now flows directly to people’s homes and neighborhoods, providing respite to the residents who are now relieved from the exhausting task of collecting water from distant springs or creeks. It has also answered health, hygiene and sanitation issues, making them worthy investments, as people can now go about with their daily activities without the fear of acquiring water-borne diseases.
Governor Dayanghirang said that “passing the Seal of Good Local Governance as a pre-requisite to access the PCF incentives speaks volume to the type of governance that we are trying to espouse – a local government that lives by transparency and accountability – one that not only allows citizens to benefit from government services but also encourage them to fully maximize their potentials.”
“Through the SGLG, we are repeatedly called to intensify our efforts in pushing for government efficiency to better serve our constituents, thus, raising the bar of excellence in our performance in governance,” said Governor Dayanghirang.
The Province of Davao Oriental was among the only seven LGUs who was invited to share their best practices and experiences in the implementation of the PCF. Other LGUs that presented their best practices are Balangga, Bataan; Bohol; Carmona, Cavite; Saguday, Quirino; Vigan, Ilocos Sur; and New Lucena, Iloilo. Contributed Photos
