THE Mabalacat City Government, led by Mayor Crisostomo Garbo, has been shortlisted to receive the 2021 Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance Award (SCFLGA).
The city has passed all the areas of evaluation and garnered the highest rating in the recently concluded Child-Friendly Local Governance Audit (CFLGA) for 2021 conducted by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
Only 20 out of the 55 local government units in Central Luzon passed CFLGA.
Mabalacat is the only Pampanga city to qualify in the CLFG audit along with the towns of Floridablanca and Porac.
Previously, Mabalacat City ranked first in the provincial level after accumulating a whopping 95 percent audit rating.
Also with a 95 percent overall rating, Mabalacat City is now ahead of all local government units (LGUs) at the regional level, as it placed first in the current audit year.
A solid contender for the 2021 National SCFLG award, the city may also merit a possible nomination to the Presidential Award for the Most Child Friendly Local Government Unit.
Population, Gender and Development (Popgad) Officer and City Council for the Welfare of Children (CCWC) Vice Chairperson Charlo Costales said the city’s placing in the roster of Top 20 LGUs in Central Luzon is already an honor.
He added that passing the rigorous audit process is already a nod to the City Government’s effective roadmap in promoting a child-friendly Mabalacat City.
Garbo said his administration will continue to give high importance to the rights and welfare of Mabalaqueño children, more so now that his administration has institutionalized various child and youth development programs in the city.
“Tayo po ay nagagalak dahil tayo ay nakapasang muli sa taunang CFLGA na isinasagawa ng DILG. Malaking bagay po ang makapasa sa audit na ito dahil ito po ay isang panunuri kung naisasakatuparan ng isang lokal na pamahalaan ang mga programa nito na nakalaan para sa mga kabataan,” Garbo said.
“Malaki din ang gampanin ng ating Sangguniang Panlungsod sa pangunguna ni Vice Mayor Gerald Guttrie Aquino sa pagbabalangkas ng mga programang nakatuon sa iba’t-ibang suliranin at pangangailangan ng mga Mabalaqueño,” he added.
The CFLGA is a mandatory review chaired by the DILG in support to the country’s commitments to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which covers all 145 cities and 1,489 municipalities nationwide.
“Through the CFLGA, all cities and municipalities are annually assessed through the following indicators categorized under the four categories of children’s rights: survival, development, protection, and participation, and governance,” the DILG said.
The SCFLGA selection and audit body is co-chaired by the Council for the Welfare of Children and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.