DILG defers 2025 Seal of Good Local Governance assessment
DILG Sec. Jonvic Remulla (INQUIRER.net file photo/Ryan Leagogo)
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) deferred the assessment for the 2025 Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG), according to a memorandum circular published on the agency’s website on Tuesday.
The SGLG is the DILG’s initiative to recognize local government units’ (LGUs) performance in transparency and accountability by giving incentive funds to awardees.
“This is to inform all concerned that the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) is currently being reprogrammed. In view thereof, the SGLG assessment for CY (calendar year) 2025 is deferred,” DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2025-032 said.
“The Department, in coordination with its stakeholders, shall prepare for the succeeding cycles in lieu of the assessment. A separate Memorandum Circular shall be issued within CY 2025 to provide guidelines on the next assessment cycles,” it added.
The memorandum circular was dated March 28, 2025.
At the 2024 SGLG ceremony last December, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla proposed holding the awards once every three years instead of yearly.
Ateneo de Manila University lecturer and policy researcher Czarina Medina-Guce told INQUIRER.net that the longer interval would allow LGUs to better adapt to the awards’ criteria.
READ: Consistency helped more LGUs get good governance seal – researcher
Remulla’s proposals to revamp the SGLG program also included creating a separate board of judges to assess LGUs and cutting the assessment criteria from 10 to just three: fiscal management, innovation, and disaster resiliency.
The interior secretary has yet to detail these plans.
READ: More LGUs bag this year’s DILG Seal of Good Local Governance award
The 2024 SGLG awarded the seal and incentive to 577 municipal governments, 96 city governments, and 41 provincial governments.
Provincial LGUs awardees were granted P3 million each, while city LGU awardees received P2 million each and municipality LGU awardees got P1,153,000 each.
