DAVAO ORIENTAL — The provincial government of Davao Oriental welcomed the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) Regional Assessment Team on April 28, 2022 at La-ne’s Kan-anan, Mati City.
The team headed by the Assistant Regional Director Abdullah V. Matalam validated the documents in compliance with the “all-in assessment criteria” wherein Davao Oriental and all other LGUs must pass all ten parameters in order to be recommended for the National Assessment.
ARD Matalam said that these criteria continue to be upgraded and redefined to highlight the critical roles of LGUs to encourage continual improvement of services to the public, and to keep influencing more LGus to embrace the drive for good local governance in pursuit of improving and sustaining reforms in local administration and service delivery.
The Seal of Good Local Governance is considered one of the highest awards given by the Department of the Interior and Local Government to local government units which recorded exemplary performance in government service.
For this year, there is a total of 81 provinces, 146 cities, and 1,488 municipalities vying for the prestigious award.
THE SGLG AWARD
The SGLG Award, which is institutionalized with the enactment of Republic Act No. 11292 or the SGLG Act, is an incentive, honor and recognition-based program which aims to “boost the LGUs’ drive to constantly progress and/or sustain their notable performance across various governance areas.”
Through DILG Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2022-026, DILG Secretary Eduardo Ano laid down the 2022 SGLG Awards’ “all-in” assessment criteria which include financial administration and sustainability; disaster preparedness; social protection and sensitivity; health compliance and responsiveness; and sustainable education.
Other assessment areas are business-friendliness and competitiveness; safety, peace and order; environmental management; tourism, heritage development, culture and arts; and youth development.
ARD Matalam emphasized that the Provincial Government of Davao Oriental must pass all assessment criteria to be considered in the list of winners. He added that the recipients of the SGLG Awards will be conferred with the SGLG marker; eligibility to the SGLG incentive fund and other intervention packages to finance their local development initiatives; and access to other programs and capacity development assistance from the DILG.
THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS
During the two-day assessment, the team of Regional Assessors conducted data gathering and certification; documentary review and interview; quality check, calibration, and first short-listing, as well as data entry through the Local Governance Performance Management System database.
During the exit conference, the assessors have also announced their initial assessment on each of the criteria.
The initial results will be validated further before endorsing to the National Assessors.
Provincial Director of the DILG Orle Cabaobao is hopeful that the province of Davao Oriental will be able to successfully regain the SGLG award.
“So far, we have seen that the province, with Governor Nelson L. Dayanghirang’s leadership, has been innovative in all of its various governance areas, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.” Cabaobao said. By Shaye Dacles | Photos by Mark Alvite
