17 Bicol LGUs get DILG Seal of Good Local Governance

LEGAZPI CITY, Albay, Philippines—Out of 120 local government units (LGUs) across Bicol, only 17 would get the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Elouisa Pastor, DILG regional director, said on Wednesday all preparations were in place for the SGLG awarding ceremonies on Thursday with Interior Secretary Mar Roxas as guest of honor.

The SGLG is an annual conferment to LGUs that adheres to performance criteria in areas of good financial housekeeping, disaster preparedness, social protection, business-friendliness and competitiveness, environmental management, peace and order and public safety, according to Pastor.

She said only 14 percent or 17 of the 120 LGUs in Bicol have passed the yearly SGLG assessment based on the criteria laid by the agency’s regional and national selection committees.

This year’s SGLG conferment includes: the provinces of Sorsogon and Catanduanes; and Masbate City.

Also included are the towns of Daet, Mercedes, Paracale, San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Vicente in Camarines Norte; Camaligan, Canaman, Del Gallego, Ragay and San Fernando in Camarines Sur; Barcelona, Bulan and Pilar in Sorsogon and Bato town in Catanduanes.

In a phone interview, Pastor said each of the provincial awardees would receive P7 million as Performance Challenge Fund (PCF), the cities P5 million each and the municipalities, P3 million.

This year’s awardees would receive a total of P61 million in PCF funds, an incentive given to LGUs, which come in the form of counterpart funding for local development projects.

Pastor said that of the 254 LGUs that passed the SGLG assessment nationwide, 17 LGUs were from Bicol.

The 17 LGUs have passed and were given “Green” scorecards in the three Basic Core Seal (Social protection, Disaster preparedness and good financial house keeping). An additional criteria where the LGU can excel in one or all includes business friendliness and competitiveness, environmental management and peace and order.

Noticeably, the province of Albay, including its 17 towns and cities, have failed the SGLG assessment by getting “Red” scorecard in the three Basic Core Seal plus One additional criteria.

When asked why the province of Albay failed to meet the criteria despite being adjudged as Galing Pook Hall of Fame awardee, Pastor explained that the province got a “Red” scorecard in the Social Protection Core Seal by not being compliant specifically with the Accessibility Law for Persons With Disabilities (PWD) and National Building Code.

She said the assessment team found the Albay Capitol Building not PWD-friendly because of the absence of ramps and rails, specifically on the second floor of the building.

The assessment teams likewise cited poor implementation of social protection core seals in the cities of Legazpi, Naga in Camarines Sur and other cities across Bicol.

When asked for his reaction, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said he has already convened the province social cluster saying “we are correcting the omissions, which are essentially physical aspects like ramps. By September assessment, we are sure of complying.”

He has set aside P3 million for the construction of access ramps and rails and to be compliant by October this year.

The governor said they would not dispute the findings, but assured that curative measures would be implemented.