ANGELES CITY -- The City Government here underwent on-site assessment from the validating team of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-Central Luzon as part of the Local Governance Performance Management System (LGPMS). LGPMS is a self-assessment tool crafted by DILG which aims to measure the performance and state of development of a particular local government unit (LGU) through a set of criteria and indicators. It aims to ensure that the goals and objectives of the LGUs (a province, a city, or a municipality) are met based on national and local laws and policies. “The City Government is devoted in attaining excellence when it comes to the delivery of public service to its constituents. As proof of our commitment, we have been consistently conferred with the DILG award from 2010 to present,” said Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan.1

NEGROS Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson discussed with the Capitol department heads about some shortcomings which led to the province’s not getting the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) this year.According to Lacson, the reason why the province did not get the SGLG award was because it did not reach the minimum 10 percent criteria of towns and cities getting the award.Lacson pointed out, a province can only qualify for the award if there are not less than four local government units who also get the SGLG award.The governor identified the cities of San Carlos, Silay, and Victorias as the only local government units in the province who got the award, aside Bacolod City.The seal is an incentive program by the DILG that recognizes and rewards local government units for “excellent service and high standards of governance.”Within the Western Visayas, Aklan was the only province awarded.Recognition for the seal is divided into nine core areas, including disaster preparedness, social protection, peace and order, business-friendliness and competitiveness, environmental protection, tourism, culture and the arts, health, and education; and provinces, municipalities and cities, and barangays are eligible to receive the distinction

REUEL JOHN F. LUMAWAG DAVAO CITY ranked as the fourth most competitive city in the Philippines based on the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) 2014 of the National Competitiveness Council (NCC). Davao is behind Makati City (1), Cagayan de Oro City (2) and Naga City (3) in the overall ranking, but ahead of Marikina City (5), Iloilo City (6), Cebu City (7), Manila City (8), Valenzuela City (9), and Paranaque City (10). The NCC ranked the cities' competitiveness based on overall competitiveness score, which is the sum of scores on three main pillars -- economic dynamism, government efficiency and infrastructure-- which pool data from several sub-indicators.

Realizing the vision of a matatag, maginhawa at panatag na buhay para sa lahat ng Pilipino has never been more challenging for local governments in the face of the new normal. Yet, there has also never been a more appropriate time to recalibrate the whole-of-government efforts in bringing about lasting reform towards building a stronger, more resilient Philippines.   We are pleased to announce the signing of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 11292, or The SGLG Act!   The SGLG Act aims to strengthen existing performance assessment mechanisms currently in place for local government units (LGUs). Correspondingly, its IRR is designed to guide LGUs in improving service delivery and actualizing development goals around the country.   The IRR of the SGLG Act is a product of collaboration among the Council of Good Local Governance (CGLG) composed of representatives from ten national government agencies: the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Office of Civil Defense (OCD); and one representative from the basic sectors nominated by the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC).   The creation of the CGLG paves the way to more comprehensive integration and streamlining of national efforts in achieving sustainable development. CGLG has been and will continue to be a platform for interest groups to represent and propose various initiatives concerning local governance.   The IRR of the SGLG Act also highlights the expansion of performance areas from seven (7) to 10. These are the original seven areas of (1) Financial Administration; (2) Disaster Preparedness; (3) Social Protection; (4) Business-Friendliness and Competitiveness; (5) Peace and Order; (6) Environmental Management; and (7) Tourism, Culture and the Arts, plus the additional governance areas of (8) Health Compliance and Responsiveness; (9) Sustainable Education; and (10) Youth Development.   As the performance criteria is scaled up, intervention packages will also be designed by the different members of the CGLG in their respective agencies to progressively incentivize and meet the capacity-building needs of the LGUs.   Since its inception in 2014, the SGLG has become a symbol that inspired local governments to be relentless in scaling-up their capacities for improved performance; a rallying cry that beckoned each and all towards the path of building prosperous, happy communities. The road may be long, but we at the DILG will continue to join LGUs in this path, as partners and allies, in achieving our shared ideals.   Mabuhay kayo, mga tapat at mahuhusay na pamahalaang lokal!

Some 380 local government units (LGU) were accorded with the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG), a coveted award given to localities that exhibit excellent governance and delivery of public service.DILG Secretary Eduardo Año (Photo from Philippine Information Agency / MANILA BULLETIN)Despite the more stringent assessment criteria, the DILG noted that the number of LGU passers this year is 44 percent more than last year’s 263.DILG Secretary Edurado M. Año said noted the LGUs’ improved performance considering that “this year’s standard was beefed up to challenge them to up their game’’.With their sterling performances, Año congratulated the LGUs which hurdled the more challenging 2019 SGLG criteria.“This year’s SGLG is extra challenging and to see these 380 LGUs rise to the occasion proves that there is good work executed at the local level for the benefit of the Filipino people,” Año said.“The SGLG awardees’ list is the kind of list that you want to be a part of. All LGUs in the entire country were assessed but not everyone made it,” he added.The 380 SGLG awardees this year, composed of 17 provinces, 57 cities, and 306 municipalities, passed the polished and redefined “all-in” assessment criteria with specific modifications in most of the governance areas namely: financial administration; disaster preparedness; social protection; peace and order; business-friendliness and competitiveness; environmental protection; and tourism, culture and the arts.“As much as we can, we make certain that we update the SGLG criteria and 2019 is no different, yet, it is noteworthy that despite a harder set of criteria, we gained a 44 percent increase of awardees,’’ Año explained.Leading the 2019 SGLG passers are Region I with a total of 65 LGUs composed of 57 municipalities, six cities and two provinces closely followed by Region III with 63, consisting of 51 passers from the municipal level, 9 cities, and 3 provinces.Regions II, Calabarzon, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) round up the top LGUs with most passers with 40, 33, and 28, respectively.“These are the usual regions on the top of the list and we thank them for their commitment, especially BARMM that made sure its programs are in place for the people,” he noted.Northern Mindanao raked in 23 passers while Region VIII tallied 21 followed by Region XIII with 19, Region VI with 18, Region V with 14, CAR with 12, Regions IX and XI with 9 passers apiece, National Capital  Region with 8, MIMAROPA with 7, Region VI with 6, and Region XII with 5.Año added the 2019 SGLG awardees have 99 more municipalities and 18 added cities that have stepped up to the plate compared to 2018 while maintaining the same number of provincial passers.“The validation and assessment are strenuous, yet we have 99 more municipalities and 18 more cities passing the stringent SGLG criteria,” he noted.Año said that with the turnout this year and the enactment of Republic Act 11292, the SGLG Act, “expect continued progress and improvement in LGUs’ capacity to deliver quality service to the people.”He revealed as an incentive, this year’s recipients will receive the 2019 SGLG marker; eligibility to the DILG Performance Challenge Fund (PCF) to finance their local development projects; and priority access to other programs and capacity development assistance from the DILG.The conferment of The Seal will be held at The Manila Hotel on November 4 for Regions I, II, CAR, MIMAROPA and NCR; and November 5 for the remaining regions.