Good barangay governance

THE Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has a program called Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG), a mechanism which tracks the performance of local government units (LGUs) in the areas of financial keeping, disaster preparedness, social protection, business friendliness and competitiveness, environment management, and peace and order.

In the 2017 yearend report of the DILG, this Seal was awarded to 29 provinces, 61 cities and 359 municipalities. It still has a long way to go to cover more LGUs. Our country has 82 provinces, 145 cities, 1,478 municipalities, and 41,902 barangays, according to the count of the Department of Budget and Management.

Perhaps the DILG can design and implement an SGLG program for the barangays, too, so that barangays will be made capable of managing their limited budget but still delivery quality services. After all, the barangay is the primary planning and implementing unit of government policies, plans, programs, projects, and activities in the community.

With our 41,902 barangays, however, a barangay-based SGLG is a gargantuan endeavor. The DILG may start with the most populous villages. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, there are only 15 barangays with a population of over 100,000. These villages could pilot an SGLG program specifically designed for barangays; they could become models for other villages to follow later on.

For 2018, the Performance Challenge Fund has a budget of P1 billion. In the 2019 budget, these could be further increased so that the largest barangays could be included.

On the shoulders of the barangays, as the most basic administrative units in the country, rest the duty and responsibility of administering the essential services of local government units. In them start good governance and the progress of our country.