BAUKO, Mountain Province – The municipal government garnered two prestigious national and regional awards for its best practices in the implementation of tourism and human resource management programs, projects and activities.
Bauko was conferred by the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) and the Department of Tourism (DOT) a Special Award for Best Tourism Event (festival category) for its Begnas di Bauko 2018 during the 14th ATOP-DOT Pear Awards held last week at Fort Ilocandia, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.
The annual ATOP-DOT Pearl Awards is to recognize exemplary practices, programs, and innovations employed by local governments in tourism governance. Out of the 24 participating provinces, cities and municipalities, the top five festivals which were given recognition were the Bambanti Festival of Isabela, Begnas di Bauko of Mountain Province, Kneeling Carabao Festival of Bulacan, Pista’y Dayat of Pangasinan, and the Simbalay Festival of Compostella Valley.
It will be recalled Bauko received a citation for Best Tourism Event (Festival-Municipality) for the same festival in 2017 during the 12th ATOP-DOT Pearl Awards in Iloilo City.
The municipality was represented during the awarding by Municipal Tourism Operations Officer Arsenia P. Addon, Sangguniang Bayan Chairman on Tourism Labor M. Masidong, Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President Rajiv A. Albon and Tourism Assistant Glenda Bayag-o.
During the “Parangal para sa mga katangi-tanging lingkod bayani ng Kordillera” held at Fortune (Hongkong ) restaurant, Bauko was the only municipality in the Cordillera to be awarded the citation for implementing the Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management System (PRIME-HRM).
The recognition was issued to the municipal government for meeting Maturity Level 2 indicators for the human resource systems and human resource management office competencies and recruitment, selection, and placement as a result of the local government’s determination and invaluable efforts to promote people excellence in their agency for efficient and effective public service delivery.
The program is aimed at transforming agencies’ human resource management system, competencies and practices to a level of excellence that foster good governance.
Mayor Abraham B. Akilit said the recent national and regional awards that were conferred to the municipal government is a testament of the unity and teamwork of the officialdom and the people of the municipality in striving to elevate the municipality to a higher level in terms of the various aspects of governance.
“We just have to continue working hard in the implementation of our programs, projects and activities and we are grateful that there are sectors that give due recognition to our gains over the past several years, especially in advancing the tourism and human resource programs of the local government,” Mayor Akilit stressed.
By HENT
