TEN local government units (LGUs) from Northern Mindanao bagged the most-coveted Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) for this year, but both Cagayan de Oro and the provincial government of Misamis Oriental failed to make it on the list.
City Administrator Teddy Sabuga-a said the city was disqualified from the competition following a new provision imposed requiring all chief executive officers of a local government unit to have zero cases against them.
"Kaniadto, wala man ni siya, I don't know what's the objective of putting that kay pwede man gud tanan makasuhan, kung kasuhan ka because political harassment, wala gyud kitay mahimo bisan qualified unta ta," Sabuga-a said in an interview.
Sabuga-a said the new rule requires local governments to get a certification from the Office of the Ombudsman which should signify that they are not facing any cases. He added, that the number of awardees dropped this year because of this new rule.
But Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Northern Mindanao regional director Arnel Agabe said the only criteria he knows for the SGLG award are: (1) Financial Administration; (2) Disaster Preparedness; (3) Social Protection; (4) Peace and Order; (5) Business-Friendliness and Competitiveness; (6) Environmental Management; and (7) Tourism, Culture and the Arts.
Agabe said a Governance Assessment Report (GAR) will be delivered to all the local government units for them to see which area they need to improve or do better, and which needs to be sustained.
"Next year, we try improve sa service delivery,availablity sa facility sa constituents, operations., structures, and the systems and subsystems in place para mas daghan pa makakuha. Actually, many local government units in region 10 has the potential to be an SGLG awardee," he said.
Only El Salvador City made it and retained its spot in the list of awardees, while for the municipal government, the following bagged the seal for this year: Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte, Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte, Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte, Sapad, Lanao del Norte, Maramag, Bukidnon, Pangatucan, Bukidnon, Sagay, Camiguin, Bonifacio, Misamis Occidental, and Lugait, Misamis Oriental.
SGLG is a yearly award and incentive program for performing local governments to encourage and challenge all provinces, cities and municipalities to improve on their performance and service delivery.
For this year, having the major upgrade: 4+1 to All-In, the LGU must pass all the areas of (1) Financial Administration; (2) Disaster Preparedness; (3) Social Protection; (4) Peace and Order; (5) Business-Friendliness and Competitiveness; (6) Environmental Management; and (7) Tourism, Culture and the Arts.
Only 263 local government units received the award, lower than last year's 448 recipient. The decrease is attributed to the higher standards set, with the criteria elevated to involve all essential areas such as environmental management, business friendliness and competitiveness and their promotion for tourism, culture and the arts.
Winners get SGLG markers that they can proudly display in their provincial, city, or municipal halls while they also get a share of the Performance Challenge Fund, a multimillion-peso incentive for local development projects.