TWELVE municipalities from the Cordillera Administrative Region were awarded the 2019 Seal of Good Local Governance.
The towns of Bucay, Dolores, La Paz, San Juan, Tayum and Tineg in Abra; Alfonso Lista, Asipulo, Lagawe and Lamut in Ifugao; Bontoc in Mountain Province and Kibungan in Benguet were this year's recipients of the award.
The different towns passed the seven assessment criteria of financial administration, social protection, peace and order, disaster preparedness, business friendliness and competitiveness, environmental protection and tourism, culture and the arts.
Across the country, there are 306 towns, 57 cities and 17 provinces who were given SGLG by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Under Republic Act 11292 or the Seal of Good Local Governance Act of 2019, the SGLG is an award, incentive, honor and recognition-based program for all LGUs and is a continuing commitment for LGUs to continually progress and improve their performance.
For being the lone awardee in Benguet province, Kibungan was recognized during the Grand Cañao during the Adivay Festival on November 23.
"The 2019 SGLG, pagkilala sa Katapatan and Kahusayan ng pamahalaang lokal is hereby conferred to the municipality symbolizing their journey towards good local governance by upholding the standards of transparency, integrity and service delivery," the citation reads.
Mayor Cesar Molitas thanked the Department of the Interior and Local Government for its guidance, and Kibungan residents and government personnel who made the effort to work on the necessary requirements.
Aside from the seal, the town received a cash award of P2.3 million.
Molitas said they are eyeing to utilize the cash prize for the construction of a clinic for Sitio Sayangan, the only village without clinic in the town of Kibungan.