The municipality of Lagawe, Ifugao is one of the municipalities being assessed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government for the coveted Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG).
The DILG-Ifugao conducted the provincial assessment and onsite validation for LGU Lagawe on June 7.
The SGLG raises the standards of all the municipalities’ performance in the Philippines, wherein they need to pass the three stages of assessment: provincial, regional, and national.
Passing the overall seal means a well-performing local go-vernment can receive additional cash incentives.
Based on DILG data, 350 LGUs in the Philippines passed the SGLG assessment in 2022.
This year, Lagawe is one of the municipalities being assessed for the SGLG.
The LGU, through the committees formed, is preparing for the 12 areas of assessment: financial administration; health compliance and responsiveness; business friendliness and competitiveness; youth development, social protection, and sensitivity; sustainable education; tourism heritage development and culture and arts; environmental management; disaster preparedness; safety and peace and order; and engineering.
LGUs will undergo three levels of assessment.
The first phase of assessment is the provincial level, which is spearheaded by the provincial office of the DILG.
This is followed by the regional assessment and national assessment of the DILG.
A municipality has to pass all the levels to qualify for the seal.
Lagawe Mayor Martin Habawel, Jr. said the committees assigned collaborated in preparing the documents in each assessment area.
“We are in high hopes to pass the SGLG assessment as we have noted active participation among the employees of LGU Lagawe. The committees have exerted effort especially in doing their part,” Habawel said.
Divina Dumalnog-Tilan, private secretary and one of the committee heads of the SGLG preparations, shared that when a municipality pass the yearly assessment, SGLG becomes a strong indicator which lifts the fund of the municipality to actualize projects in their area of jurisdiction.
“If the Municipality of Lagawe passes the SGLG assessment, the 2024 budget will be increased based on the proposed projects for the LGU,” Tilan said.
It can be remembered that LGU Lagawe passed SGLG in 2019. In 2020, there were gaps and lacking documents to support the 12 areas of assessment. Hence, the LGU Lagawe is “eager to pass all the required documents and in high hopes to pass the SGLG assessment this year.”
With regards to the provincial assessment, LGU Lagawe strives to accomplish all the necessary documents that will strengthen their annual reports until June 9. The documentary evidences are the corresponding requirements for them to pass for the regional assessment.
Humphrey Anapen, Local Government Operation Officer of DILG, said the result of the provincial audit will be known in July 2023 since the assessment will take two to three weeks. Anapen added the SGLG assessment’s official result will be announced in December 2023 after the national evaluation. – Sheila Mae A. Curato
