BACOLOD City is one of the local government units (LGUs) in the country that passed the Good Financial Housekeeping (GFH) that recognizes financial transparency of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Bacolod is one of the 15 cities in Western Visayas that made it to the list of 2018 Good Financial Housekeeping passers as of January 15, as announced by the DILG Bureau of Local Government Supervision recently.
“This is inspiring. It reassures us that we are on the right track where financial management is concerned. We also give credit to our men and women in the city government who keep the day-to-day transactions and dealings with our public in order,” Mayor Evelio Leonardia said.
Leonardia said the City Treasurer’s Office had reported a total collection of P1,444,728,501 in real property taxes and other non-tax revenues in 2018.
City Treasurer Giovanni Balalilhe said the Bacolod collection target for 2018 set by the Department of Finance–Bureau of Local Government Finance (DoF-BLGF) was only P1,013,816,656, thus their collection efficiency was 143 percent or even exceeding the DoF target.
Transparency
The GFH—formerly the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH)—refers to the compliance of the LGU with accounting and auditing standards, and rules and regulations.
These include Unqualified or Qualified Commission on Audit Opinion of the immediately preceding year, as well as Compliance with the Full Disclosure Policy of Local Budget and Finances, Bids, and Public Offerings.
The GFH is one of the six area assessments of the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG). Other SGLG variables include Disaster Preparedness, Social Protection, Business-Friendliness and Competitiveness, Peace and Order, and Environmental Management.
The GFH citation adds to the prestigious awards, recognitions, and citations that Bacolod has received from various award-giving organizations in 2018 alone.
Meanwhile, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has considered Bacolod as “among the most active growth corridors in the country.”
“Bacolod City has consistently seen vigorous economic expansion, expanding infrastructure development, and a high influx of investments,” said BSP governor Nelson Espenilla Jr. recently. (PR)