Province, 7 Iloilo towns win ‘good governance’ award

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The province of Iloilo, including its six towns and one component city, received the 2023 Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) award from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Iloilo is among the 28 provinces, 64 cities, and 401 municipalities that received the SGLG award this year. This is the sixth time the province has received the award since its inception in 2014.

Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. said the SLSG award is a practical manifestation of the province’s mantra of a MoRProGRes Iloilo (Movement for a Robust, Progressive, Globally Competitive, and Resilient Province of Iloilo).

“The SGLG is a guide. They are not objectives; they are a set of standards that we should follow. And if you follow them, you are doing well. So we will continue to do our work under MoRProGRes Iloilo by using the standards of the SLSG,” he said in a statement.

The MoRProGRes Iloilo is the provincial government’s recovery agenda and whole-of-province approach for development and progress.

The local government units (LGU) in the province that also received the SGLG award this year are Anilao, Bingawan, Concepcion, Pavia, Mina, Lambunao, and Passi City.

Passi City is now a six-time awardee of the SGLG, while Anilao and Bingawan are recipients of the award for the fifth time.

Meanwhile, Concepcion has achieved the award for the fourth time, and Pavia, Mina, and Lambunao have each received the award three times.

The DILG-Iloilo commended the province and the towns for cultivating a culture of effective governance.

“After an extensive process of assessment and validation, you have proven that indeed, you foster a culture of good governance amid the challenges in the local government landscape,” it said.

The SGLG is the highest recognition and the most prestigious award given by the DILG to local government units with outstanding delivery of public service.

According to the DILG, this year’s performance measures were further upgraded to gauge outcome-based oriented efforts of the LGUs.

From seven performance indicators, there are now governance areas evaluated by the DILG, namely: 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.

Anchored to the theme, “Pagkilala sa Katapatan at Kahusayan ng Pamahalaang Lokal,” the 2023 SGLG seeks to influence potential actions of LGUs in response to the new administration and the adoption of the Philippine Development Plan 2022-2028.