KIDAPAWAN CITY – The provincial government of Cotabato bagged its fourth Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) award conferred by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to recognize local government units’ performance in transparency and accountability.

MENDOZA (FB)
The towns of Aleosan, Kabacan, M’lang, Magpet, Midsayap, and Pigcawayan and this city were also recipients of the SGLG.
The province was among the 714 local government units recognized in a ceremony at the Manila Hotel from Dec. 9 to 10. Forty-one were provinces, 96 were cities, and 577 were municipalities.
The DILG said this was the highest number of awardees in history.
Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza acknowledged the contributions of her fellow workers in the provincial government for the award. “It helps to have co-workers who believe and support my administration with a clear target, measurable outcome, and prudence in the utilization of government resources.”
Since the SGLG started in 2014, the provincial government has earned four awards under Mendoza’s leadership, the first three in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2023, which was awarded this year. Due to the pandemic, there were no awards given in 2020 or 2021.
Aleosan Mayor Eduardo Cabaya Jr. also acknowledged the contributions of his fellow LGU officials and employees to the award. Cabaya emphasized that the award is not just for the LGU but also for the people of Aleosan.
“This is a result of our collaborative efforts and dedication to provide a genuine service to our people. Let us sustain our hard work for the future of our town,” he said.
The DILG said that this year’s assessment has been upgraded to include more outcome-based criteria to distinguish and incentivize good performance that meets the demands of public accountability and reform.
The DILG added that governance areas assessed are financial administration and sustainability, disaster preparedness, social protection and sensitivity, health compliance and responsiveness, sustainable education, business friendliness and competitiveness, safety, peace, and order, environmental management, tourism, heritage development, culture and arts, and youth development.
The conferment of SGLG to LGUs are based on performance criteria on any the following areas – good financial housekeeping, disaster preparedness, social protection for the basic sector, business-friendliness and competitiveness, environmental management, and law and order and public safety.
All awardees received an SGLG marker and SGLG Incentive Fund to finance local development initiatives that can further national goals and strategic thrusts.