OF THE 61 barangays in Bacolod City, Barangay Pahanocoy was awarded with the 2021 Seal of Good Local Governance for Barangay by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The awarding ceremony was led by Ma. Joy Maredith Madayag, head of DILG-Bacolod, along with the officials of Barangay Pahanocoy led by its village chief Yolanda Noble and Kagawads Eric Magbanua, Jayson Olivar, Marjorie Voluntate, Peter Noble, Glen Burgos, Carlos Cabalo Jr., Mira Polidario, Carlo Valderrama and Noel Libo-on at the barangay’s gymnasium on Monday, August 8.
Madayag said yesterday, August 9, that Barangay Pahanocoy received a certificate of recognition signed by DILG Secretary Eduardo Año.
She said it’s a pilot testing of the Seal of Good Local Governance for Barangay. For Bacolod, Barangay Pahanocoy was chosen to represent the city.
“Previously, the DILG was giving the Seal of Good Local Governance award to the local government units, but now they also involved the barangays,” she added.
Aside from Barangay Pahanocoy, seven other barangays in Negros Occidental were also awarded with the 2021 Seal of Good Local Governance for Barangay.
Madayag noted that the DILG has required all the cities and municipalities to submit only one barangay for the pilot testing of the Seal of Good Local Governance for Barangay.
“We chose Barangay Pahanocoy and we submitted it to the regional and national office of the DILG,” Madayag said.
From more than 1, 300 barangays nationwide that joined the pilot testing, she said, more than 500 barangays passed the evaluation conducted by the DILG.
In Western Visayas, only 57 barangays had passed the evaluation.
Madayag stressed that Barangay Pahanocoy managed to pass the three performance areas including the peace and order situation, financial sustainability, and disaster preparedness.
“After the pilot testing, maybe all the barangays will be subjected for a performance assessment,” she said.
For her part, Noble also expressed her gratitude to the DILG for giving them the award.
“We are thankful to the DILG as well as to my colleagues in the barangay, the employees and the people of Barangay Pahanocoy,” Noble said.
She added, “it is a prestigious award and we are very happy because of the 61 barangays in Bacolod, Barangay Pahanocoy was chosen and eventually won the award.”
Noble said that DILG-Bacolod informed them that they will be included in the pilot testing for the Seal of Good Local Governance for Barangay on September 23 last year while onsite verification was conducted on October 1, 2021.
“We are hopeful to continue the good performance of Barangay Pahanocoy,” she said, adding that “we are here to serve our constituents, and it’s the first time that our barangay was recognized by the DILG national office.”