Bohol top in governance

Bohol emerged as the country’s best governed province while Valenzuela and Ligao came out as the best governed among highly urbanized cities and component cities, respectively, according to the latest performance report released by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The DILG on Sunday disclosed the 10 provinces and 20 cities that scored high in the Local Governance Performance Management System (LGPMS) report for 2010.

Managed by the DILG, the LGPMS is a web-based, self-assessment tool that measures the performance of local government units (LGUs) in key governance areas.

It assesses the performance of cities and provinces in administrative, social, economic and environmental governance.

It also assesses local government units in terms of transparency, participation and financial accountability, the guideposts for good governance.

The LGUs are scored accordingly, with 1 as the lowest and 5 as the highest.

Among the provinces, Bohol scored 4.9370 followed closely by La Union with 4.9115.

The rest of the 10 top-performing provinces are Bulacan with 4.8628; Negros Oriental, 4.8331; Pangasinan, 4.8185; Ilocos Norte, 4.8185; Albay, 4.8064; Cavite,4.8031; Compostela Valley, 4.7812; and Tarlac, 4.7773.

Valenzuela, meanwhile, scored 4.9150 to lead the top performing highly urbanized and independent component cities.

San Juan followed with 4.8875; Puerto Princesa, 4.8640; Angeles, 4.7410; Davao, 4.7380; Naga, 4.6940; Zamboanga, 4.6865; Iligan, 4.6710; Cebu, 4.6633; and Taguig, 4.6415.

Among component cities, Ligao was the top performer with a score of 4.9240; followed by Laoag, 4.9193; San Fernando, 4.9177; Vigan, 4.8617; Gingoog, 4.8568; Cabanatuan, 4.8363; Dipolog, 4.8113; La Carlota, 4.7553; Iriga, 4.7522; and Batac, 4.7430.

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said a team composed of representatives from the national and local governments conducted the assessment while civil society organizations validated the results to ensure impartiality.

“I laud these local governments for their commitment in elevating and maintaining the highest standards of public service delivery in their respective localities. I hope that their shining examples will inspire others to strive hard in the performance of their duties,” Robredo said.

In Pampanga, three cities and 16 towns in Central Luzon received the Seal of Good Housekeeping from the DILG, enabling them to get P3 million (for cities) and P1 million (for towns), for local projects.—With a report from Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon