CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – A total of 63 local government units (LGUs) in Central Luzon have made it to the list of this year's passers for the prestigious Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) of the Department of the Interior and Local and Government (DILG).
Based on the list released by the DILG, Central Luzon is the second region with the most number of awardees this year, after Ilocos region, which has 65 awardees.
Out of the 63 SGLG awardees, three were provincial governments, nine were city governments, and 51 were municipal governments.
The number of this year's winners is significantly higher than in 2018, when there were 43 awardees.
“Congratulations to all Region 3 (Central Luzon) SGLG passers," DILG-3 director Julie Daquioag said on Friday as she noted that the feat indicates how local officials, functionaries, and employees have learned to embrace the principles of good governance.
Daquioag called on local chief executives in the region to continuously deliver the best services to the people.
Pampanga, having the most number of SGLG passers in the region this year, is a testament of the LGUs' relentless efforts to promote and attain good governance, DILG-Pampanga director Myrvi Fabia said.
“Let's continue to raise the bar of excellence in public service,” Fabia said.
Meanwhile, the three provinces in the region that were awarded the SGLG were Bataan, Bulacan, and Tarlac.
The cities were Balanga in Bataan; San Fernando and Mabalacat in Pampanga; Meycauayan and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan; San Jose, Palayan, and Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija; and Tarlac City, in Tarlac.
On the other hand, the municipal governments in the region that were conferred with the prestigious award were Baler, Dingalan, and Maria Aurora in Aurora; Bagac, Dinalupihan, Hermosa, Orani, Pilar, and Samal in Bataan; Angat, Balagtas, Baliuag, Bulakan, Guinguinto, Plaridel, Pulilan, and Santa Maria in Bulacan;
Bongabon, Cabiao, Cuyapo, Llanera, Nampicuan, Rizal, San Antonio, San Leonardo, Sta. Rosa, Talavera, and Zaragoza, in Nueva Ecija; Apalit, Arayat, Bacolor, Floridablanca, Guagua, Lubao, Macabebe, Masantol, Mexico, Minalin, Porac, San Simon, and Sto. Tomas in Pampanga; Capas, Gerona, Moncada, Pura, San Clemente, San Jose, Sta. Ignacia, and Victoria in Tarlac; and Botalan, and San Antonio in Zambales.
The Seal of Good Local Governance, also known as "Pagkilala sa Katapatan at Kahusayan ng Pamahalaang Lokal", is awarded by the DILG annually to deserving provinces, cities and municipalities that perform well in various fields.
The DILG has redefined and polished its all-in criteria, making the 2019 SGLG more challenging for the LGUs.
Through DILG Memorandum Circular 2019-44, the SGLG 2019 is geared towards institutionalizing a culture of performance among LGUs that use performance information for interventions and actions.
The SGLG 2019 requires LGUs to pass all seven governance areas -- financial administration; disaster preparedness; social protection; peace and order; business-friendliness and competitiveness; environmental protection; and tourism, culture and the arts.
LGUs that meet the minimum criteria will not only be conferred with the Seal of Good Local Governance but will also be entitled to a package of incentives, such as the Performance Challenge Fund to finance their local development initiatives and access to other programs and capacity development assistance from the DILG. (PNA)
