By Froilan Magtoto/PNA
SUBIC, Zambales — A total of 43 local government units (LGUs) in Central Luzon that successfully passed this year’s Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) assessments received Thursday PHP162.3 million in subsidy from the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s Performance Challenge Fund (PCF).
The PCF is a grant or cash award given to eligible LGUs to support the high-impact local development projects identified as a priority by the local government.
DILG Regional Director Julie Daquioag led the awarding of the PCF incentive in ceremonies at the Subic Bay Travelers’ Hotel here.
In her message, she urged the local chief executives of the PCF recipients and awardees to sustain their efforts towards attaining a more transparent, accountable, responsive and participative governance.
“I am also encouraging other LGUs to strive for better performance in order for them to qualify in the SGLG assessments next year,” Daquioag said.
The four provinces in the region that were SGLG awardees, namely Bataan, Bulacan Nueva Ecija and Tarlac, received PHP7 million each of PCF incentive.
The cities of Balanga in Bataan; San Fernando and Mabalacat in Pampanga; San Jose and Science City of Munoz in Nueva Ecija, on the other hand, got PHP5.1-million PCF each.
Meanwhile, the 34 municipal governments in the region that were awarded with PHP3.2-million PCF each are Baler and Maria Aurora in Aurora; Bagac, Hermosa, Morong, Orani, Pilar and Samal in Bataan; Baliuag, Guiguinto and Plaridel in Bulacan;
Cabiao, Llanera, Peñaranda, Rizal, San Leonardo, Sta. Rosa, and Talavera, in Nueva Ecija; Bacolor, Floridablanca, Lubao, Macabebe, Mexico, San Simon, Sta. Ana and Sto. Tomas in Pampanga; Capas, Gerona, Moncada, Paniqui, Pura, and Victoria in Tarlac; and San Antonio and San Felipe in Zambales.
The SGLG, also known as “Pagkilala sa Katapatan at Kahusayan ng Pamahalaang Lokal”, is awarded by the DILG each year to deserving provinces, cities and municipalities that perform well in various fields.
This year, the DILG raised the bar in assessing LGUs that have good governance practices, by changing the conditions from “4-plus-1” to “all-in”.
This means that an LGU must not only qualify for the four core components and at least one of the three essential areas, which was the requirement in the previous years, but must pass all the seven areas: financial administration; disaster preparedness; social protection; peace and order; business-friendliness and competitiveness; environmental management; and tourism, culture and the arts.
Central Luzon is the second region with the most number of SGLG recipients this year, next to Region 1 which has 51 awardees.
In 2017, there were 56 local government units in Central Luzon that received the SGLG.
