BACOLOD City – Four cities in Negros Occidental, including this capital city, are among this year’s awardees of the coveted Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) bestowed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The three others include the component cities of San Carlos, Silay and Victorias.
Of the five cities awarded in Western Visayas, four are in Negros Occidental. The other is Passi in Iloilo province.
“Congratulations to all Region 6 awardees. We recognize your efforts in practicing good governance and providing better public service,” the DILG-6 posted on its official Facebook page.
All the four cities from Negros Occidental have celebrated their wins in their respective social media posts since Thursday.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia said the SGLG is the barometer of the performance of a local government unit (LGU).
“For us, this is a validation of all the other awards we earned,” the mayor said in a statement on Friday.
For 2019, only 57 out of 145 cities around the country have been presented with the SGLG Awards.
The criteria have seven governance core areas – financial administration; disaster preparedness; social protection; peace and order; business-friendliness and competitiveness; environmental protection; and tourism, culture, and the arts.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in a statement that the SGLG 2019 presents a more challenging requisite of hitting the minimum criteria in the SGLG’s seven governance areas.
This time, the LGU also has to demonstrate positive results out of its reform efforts, taking into account the local leadership and the cohesive action of the entire workforce.
The SGLG marker will be conferred on the recipients, along with the eligibility to the Performance Challenge Fund to finance their local development initiatives.
The LGU awardees will also have access to other programs and capacity development assistance of the DILG. (With a report from PNA/PN)
