BONTOC – The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) provincial office here is hopeful that the Provincial Government of Mountain Province will be a recipient of the upcoming Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) award after meeting all the criteria and presenting all the required documents when the Regional Assessment Team formed by the DILG regional office visited the province for evaluation last June 4, 2014.
To be a recipient of the said award, an LGU must follow the “3 plus 1 principle”, meaning an LGU needs to pass all the core assessment areas and at least one of the three essential areas. However, the DILG strongly suggests that it would be better for an LGU to pass all the core and essential assessment areas considering that only 40% LGU’s in the country will be chosen to become 2014 SGLG recipients.
The three core assessment areas include Good Financial Housekeeping, Disaster Preparedness and Social Protection while the three essential areas include business friendliness and competitiveness, peace and order and environmental management.
After the validation and assessment activity, the Regional Assessment Team informed that the Province received a flying color on Good Financial Housekeeping which means that the provincial government of Mountain Province complied with the accounting and auditing standards, rules and regulation as well as compliance with the Full Disclosure Policy of Local Budget Finances, Bids and Public Offerings.
The assessment team also informed that the Provincial Government passed the assessment on Disaster Preparedness and Social Protection for completing the necessary criterions while the same favorable result was also granted to the three essential areas.
The Regional Assessment Team is headed by DILG-CAR Assistant Regional Director Jonathan Paul Leusen. With him are DBM-CAR Chief Budget and Management Specialist, Dr. Conchita Valentina Diaz; University of the Cordillera Research and Development OIC Director, Engr. Nathaniel Vincent Lubrica; DILG-CAR LGMED OIC Division Chief, Dr. Daisy Payang and DILG-CAR Focal Person Florida Garcia.
Governor Leonard Mayaen said that the result of the assessment substantially covers the programs of the provincial government while also stating that the result is a collaborative effort between the executive and legislative branch of the provincial government and worth mentioning the full support from the heads of offices and line agency partners.
Governor Mayaen also thanked the DILG Provincial Office headed by Director Anthony Ballug for taking the initiative to conduct an orientation last April to familiarize the Heads of Offices and other concern agencies regarding the implementation of the SGLG.
Assistant Regional Director Leusen on his part encouraged the public servants to continue to perform better in delivering basic services that are responsive to the people’s needs.
Leusen further said that an LGU recipient of the seal is eligible to access the Performance Challenge Fund (PCF), a support fund to finance local development initiatives. Aside from the PCF are accesses to other program windows and capacity development assistance from the national government as part of the incentive package.
Originating from the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH) award to promote transparency and accountability in local operations, the SGLG was introduced to challenge local governments across the country to continue good governance practices while providing better services to the people.
It will be recalled that since its pilot run last 2010, the provincial government of Mountain Province had been a recipient of the SGH award from the DILG.
