DAVAO ORIENTAL – After being the sole awardee for the Seal of Good Local Governance in 2017, the Province of Davao Oriental is once again considered a potential passer for this year.
Just recently, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has already started the national validation for the 2018 Seal of Good Local Governance Award.
On Friday, August 24, national validators composed of DILG officers from the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) led by SGLG Team Leader Tohammi Abas assessed the compliance of the province to the mandated laws through inspection of required documents and the conduct of site validation here.
During the validation, Abas congratulated the Province of Davao Oriental for “once again reaching the national validation stage”. He said that out of 3,100 LGUs nationwide, only around 200 LGUs, including Davao Oriental, have reached this level. “This signifies that the Davao Oriental is doing everything it can in good governance and in rendering services to the people,” he said.
DILG Provincial Director Yvette Sunga said that this year’s SGLG is more rigorous compared last year since all the seven criteria are non-negotiable. “This means that all LGUs must pass all seven areas in order to pass the SGLG,” she said. These performance areas are financial administration, social protection, disaster preparedness, peace and order, business friendliness and competitiveness, environmental management, and culture and the arts.
She said that although the SGLG’s bar of excellence is raised year after year, the Republic Acts that must be complied with by the LGUs already exist. She said that “through the SGLG, we continuously ensure exemplary performance and good governance among all LGUs as we also make sure that the government services are felt by the people,” she said, emphasizing that all performance areas are also in line with the national government’s thrust to stop corruption, eradication of drugs, and good peace and order, among others.
Aside from the Province of Davao Oriental, five other LGUs here are also potential passers. These are the municipalities of Banaybanay, Governor Generoso, Lupon, Tarragona, and San Isidro.
In the regional level, Davao Oriental has the most number of potential passers. Six out of eleven LGUs who are potential passer are from the Davao Oriental.
A consistent passer for the Good Governance Award since 2011, Davao Oriental hopes for the positive outcome of the validation and to still bag the award.
Aside from the inspecting documents, validators also made site validation. Among those that were checked are the ramps in compliance to the accessibility law, operation center and early warning systems for disaster preparedness and response, the crisis center, the hospital, and Full-Disclosure Policy in three conspicuous places.
After the validation, the documents will be forwarded to the national government which will do the final validation.
While the awarding ceremony is slated on October, SGLG awardees will receive Performance Challenge Fund (PCF) as incentive from the department which will be used for the LGUs development projects. Photos by Eden Jhan Licayan
