LINGAYEN, Pangasinan – Members of the validating team from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) hailed the provincial government of Pangasinan during the validation they conducted recently as required for the grant of Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG).
Impressed with the consistent good performance of the Pangasinan Provincial Government in various development indicators, the validating team led by DILG Assistant Regional Director Victoria Ramos cited the province of Pangasinan with the most number of city and municipal Local Government Units (LGUs) in the region which received the SGLG award last year.
“Out of the 45 LGUs in the region which were SGLG awardees last year, 18 are from Pangasinan,” Ramos said.
Ramos said on the third year of SGLG, LGUs will be evaluated in three core areas namely: financial administration, disaster preparedness and social protection and peace and order; and in essential areas which include environmental management, business friendliness and competitiveness, and tourism, culture and the arts.
“Every year, the SGLG accommodates changes. Newest addition to the areas to be assessed is the tourism, culture and the arts,” Ramos said, as she added that this time, LGUs will be evaluated on their compliance with 58 development indicators.
Prior to the DILG team’s validation, the group was received by Governor Amado I. Espino, III. In meeting the validating team, the provincial chief executive bared that all programs and projects under his administration, aside from the new programs and innovative projects which were launched, came as a legacy from the previous provincial administration.
It can be recalled that under the nine-year leadership of former governor and now 5th district Representative Amado T. Espino, Jr., the province was accorded with the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH) in 2014.
Last year, LGU – Pangasinan received the SGLG award for 2015.
The SGLG, an expanded version of the SGH, was launched in 2014.
Joining Ramos during the validation were Civil Society Organization Representative Mario Zamoranos, Local Government Operations Officer V and Regional SGLG Focal Person Hope Ordono, DILG Provincial Director Agnes De Leon and Program Manager Marilyn Laguipo.
After the one-day assessment, the evaluators presented their findings which shall serve as inputs for the provincial government to enhance its development agenda.
Present during the validation were chief of offices and departments in the provincial government, representatives from provincial offices of national government agencies and non-government organizations.
By Dexter A. See
