Pigcawayan is one of SGLG awardees

PIGCAWAYAN, North Cotabato --- This municipal government has proved once more its competencyin functional governance after it was awarded with the 2017 Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) after passing all the assessment criteria.

The Pigcawayan local government unit, headed by Mayor Eliseo D. Garcesa, Jr., emerged one of the three LGU awardees in North Cotabato, alongside Kabacan and M’Lang.

“The local government underwent strict assessment held previously by the Regional Assessment Team of the DILG. We are happy with the outcome. We offer this award to our fellow Pigcawayanons,” Mayor Garcesa said.

The DILG said the SGLG symbolizes integrity and good performance through continuing governance reform and sustained local development. The SGLG is a progressive assessment system adopted by the Department to give distinction to remarkable local government performance across several areas.

For this year, 81 provinces, 145 cities, and 1,489 municipalities were subjected to the assessment by the DILG.

The SGLG is considered as one of the highest achievements of a local government unit. It is awarded annually to deserving LGUs across the country that  meet the much stricter “4+1” assessment criteria.

This 2017, for a local government unit to be awarded the highly-coveted seal, it needs to pass all of the four core areas: Financial Administration; Disaster Preparedness, Social Protection, and Peace and Order; at least one of these areas: Business-Friendliness and Competitiveness; Environmental Protection; and Tourism, Culture, and the Arts.

Along with the SGLG Marker, which stands proof of a responsible, efficient, and corruption-free governance, the SGLG 2017 recipients will also receive cash incentives from the DILG. The cash incentives will be used by the awardees to finance their local development projects.

The SGLG is guided by the provisions of Republic Act 7160, also known as the Local Government Code of 1991, the General Appropriations Act of 2017, and Administrative Order No. 267 of 1992. (GILMHAR A. LAO & ANNE ACOSTA – MINDANAO EXPOSE’)