BAGUIO CITY – Almost one hundred percent of Local Peace and Order Councils (POC) in the Cordilleras have demonstrated improved performance in the previous years, the Department of the Interior and Local Government – Cordillera Administrative Region (DILG-CAR) announced citing the results of the latest Peace and Order Council Performance Audit where 82 of 83 POCs in the region, up from 75 last year, passed the assessment.
By virtue of Executive Order No. 773 series of 2009, POCs are organized at the Municipal, City, Provincial and Regional levels and are tasked to foster the stronger collaboration of LGUs with law enforcement agencies and the community to combat criminality, illegal drugs, insurgency, and violent extremism.
DILG-CAR Regional Director Araceli A. San Jose lauded the improvement in the performance of Cordillera LGUs in the POC audit, citing that it is a positive indicator of more LGUs committing to the administration’s continued call for promoting positive peace.
The POC Performance Audit evaluates LGUs through Functionality and Development Indicators. The former looks at the organization of the POCs, its conduct of regular meetings, the quality of its policies, plans, and budget, and its innovative practices. Meanwhile, the latter assesses the POCs efforts in addressing criminality, ensuring public safety, promoting gender sensitivity, and encouraging active citizen participation in its peacekeeping efforts.
Based on their Performance Rating, POCs are accorded with the corresponding Adjectival Ratings as either High Performing, Moderate Performing or Low Performing.
The DILG-CAR chief said that while the region has posted a 98.80% passing rate in the CY 2023 audit, she hopes that more POCs will earn a “High Performing” rating. Out of the 82 POCs passing the latest audit, only 65 or 79.2% of LGUs were considered High Functional POCs.
“We see great promise in the improved performance of our LGUs, but we must go beyond the minimum and enjoin our LGUs to further improve their POCs’ operations, which translates into more peaceful and orderly communities,” RD San Jose said.
She added that she is optimistic that for the next audit cycle, all 83 POCs will finally pass the audit. The DILG-CAR has mobilized its Field Operating Units to provide the necessary technical assistance to all LGUs to ensure their compliance with the indicators. By Fernando Pre
