The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) called on the local government units (LGUs) to come up with ingenious strategies amid adversities to gain the 2022 Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) Awards.
DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said a total of 81 provinces, 146 cities and 1,488 municipalities are vying for the prestigious award.
“LGUs must push themselves towards innovation if they plan to vie for the 2022 SGLG Awards. Innovation in various governance areas will be key for them to create a mark in local governance in the same way that it will be their ticket to take home the SGLG Awards,’’ Año said.
The SGLG Awards, which is institutionalized with the enactment of Republic Act No. 11292 or the SGLG Act, is an incentive, honor and recognition-based program which aims to boost the LGUs’ drive to constantly progress and/or sustain their notable performance across various governance areas.
Through DILG Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2022-026, the DILG Secretary laid down the 2022 SGLG Awards’ 'all-in' assessment criteria which include financial administration and sustainability; disaster preparedness; social protection and sensitivity; health compliance and responsiveness; and, sustainable education.
Other assessment areas are business-friendliness and competitiveness; safety, and peace and order; environmental management; tourism, heritage development, culture and arts; and youth development.
Año emphasized that the LGUs must pass all assessment criteria to be considered in the list of winners adding “that for a province to qualify, 10 percent of its component cities and municipalities must also be passers.’’
With the record-breaking number of SGLG Awards recipients last year tallying 1,303 or 76 percent of all LGUs assessed, which is the highest since its inception, Año disclosed that the pressure is high for past winners to maintain their status and for others to keep up and be included in the coveted list of winners.
He said that he hopes to see more LGUs being included in the list as it is a manifestation of the culture of good governance in the ground.
2022 SGLG Awards timeline
‘’Minimum public health standards (MPHS) and Covid-19 preventive measures must also be strictly adhered to,’’ said Año.
Even amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Año noted “we continue to foster growth among the LGUs and institute a rewards system that will recognize remarkable performance from the local governments.’’
The DILG chief said that the recipients of the SGLG Awards will be conferred with the SGLG marker; eligibility to the SGLG incentive fund and other intervention packages to finance their local development initiatives; and access to other programs and capacity development assistance from the DILG.
Año revealed that the regional assessment for the 2022 SGLG Awards will immediately commence in March and will end in May.
In this phase, Año said that data gathering and certification; documentary review and/or interview; quality check, calibration, and first short-listing; and, data entry through the Local Governance Performance Management System database will transpire.
Following this is the National Assessment from June to August composed of data extraction and database normalization and national calibration and validation to be succeeded by the presentation of validation results, indorsement and approval by September. (Chito A. Chavez)