The Cebu Provincial Government, three Cebu towns and one component city were awarded with the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) this year.

Aside from the Capitol, those who received the SGLG are the Municipalities of Tudela, Sogod and Samboan, and the City of Naga. Two other Central Visayas provinces—Bohol and Siquijor—were also recognized.

They were part of the more than 400 local government units nationwide that were recognized by the DILG. It is the third time for the Cebu Provincial Government to receive the SGLG in the provincial category.

Gov. Hilario Davide III, in a statement, underscored the importance of participatory governance in the Province’s SGLG win. “Winning this recognition of excellence for three consecutive years prove that participatory governance is one of the best ways in carrying out our mandate.

It fleshes out new ideas with all stakeholders taking part in the formulation of sound policies, programs and projects of the Provincial Government,” he said. City of Naga administrator Arthur Villamor, for his part, said this was the first time that they won the SGLG. But the City Government has already secured other accolades from the DILG such as the Seal of Good Housekeeping, among others, in the past years. Since the time of former mayor Valdemar Chiong, Villamor said they were able to secure awards due to the proper documentation of the City’s programs and projects. As for Samboan Vice Mayor Emerito Calderon Jr., he attributed their award to the determination of their local officials to serve their constituents. “Despite our being a fifth class municipality, we were able to attain and achieve this award because everybody did what we have to do,” he said.

In a text message to SunStar Cebu, Sogod Mayor Moonyen Durano-Streegan said it was the third time they received the SGLG from DILG. The SGLG is a progressive assessment system adopted by DILG to give distinction to remarkable local government performance across several areas.

To win the award, local government units must pass the core areas of financial administration, disaster preparedness, social protection and tourism, culture and arts. For this year, the DILG raised its overall assessment criteria by including peace and order to its list of core areas.

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