COTABATO CITY --- Local chief
executives in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, all in the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao, hurdled a seminar-training on Peace and Security Development Course
held at the Pinnacle Hotel in Davao City last November 7 to 9.
The
three-day executive training course is a program of the Department of National
Defence (DND) led by Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and the Department of the
Interior and Local Government (DILG) under
Secretary Eduardo Año. DILG
Secretary Año, in his closing statement for the three-day seminar and training,
said he “feels happy” seeing the faces
of all the mayors from the provinces of Maguindanao and Lanao Sur in attendance
and participation for the executives
course.
Hundred
percent of the mayors attended the course whose subjects include
conflict-resolution strategies and framework intervention on localization of
peace negotiation, among others.
He
emphasized the importance of the course so the local chief executives may
further infuse the mandates of the national government.
Año
also recognized the presence of the 6th Infantry Division Commander Maj. Gen.
Cerelito Sobejana; Brigade Commanders Col.
Alfredo Rosario, Jr. and Brig. Gen. Jesus Saragat of the 602nd and 603rd Brigade, respectively; Lt. Col. Edgar Catu of
the 40th IB; 57th IB commander Lt. Col. Ernesto Gener; 1st Mechanized Battalion
Commander Col. James Fernando; and PNP-ARMM Director Graciano Mijares; and DILG-11 Director Alex Roldan .
Año gave special mention of the 23 municipal
governments that have been recipients of the Seal of Good Local Governance
(SGLG) Awards with cash incentives which can be utilized for their respective
development programs or projects.
The
SGLG awardees passed the performance criteria-compliance from the previous
4+1 to the current seven (good financial
housekeeping, social protection, disaster preparedness, business friendliness,
competitiveness, peace and order, and environmental management)
“If
you have qualified on and passed these sets of criteria, you become somebody
and you earn the trust and appreciation in governance with the people as the
end-beneficiaries, the very constituents you, local chief executives, serve.
That means you are good performing
leaders,” Año said.
“But,
mind you people, these criteria are not easy to comply with, it’s so hard. And
for the first time since I started two years ago in this agency, there was no
qualifier among you. But this time, it’s
amazing because 23 municipalities from the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have passed the SGLG,” Año further said.
The
SGLG passers from Maguindanao are Matanog, Barira, Buldon, Parang, Sultan
Mastura, Sultan Kudarat, Upi, South Upi, Guindulungan, Shariff Aguak, Datu Paglas, and Datu Abdullah Sangki.
In
Basilan, the SGLG awardees are the municipal governments of Maluso and Sumisip
while in Tawi-tawi are Sibuto and Simunol. The municipality of Talipao in Sulu
is the awardee while in Lanao del Sur, these are Buadiposo-Buntong, Kapatagan,
Piagapo, Taraka and Wao.
He
expressed hope that there will be more SGLG qualifiers and winners in the
ensuing year.
He
said the award system will be institutionalized through the passage of the SGLG
law with cash incentives increasing from one to three million pesos.
“Now,
if the cash awards are higher than today, I am sure that our SGLG passers and
even those wanting to become qualifiers would work harder and look forward to their
plans and programs to hit their goals of winning the competition among other local
government units,” Año said of the recognition and fiscal incentives.
Año
said the three-day executives course for local chief executives is a learning
session to enhance the knowledge and abilities of political leaders to work and
plan for development and settle problems besetting the communities as well as engrain
the know-how in the proper handling and distribution of projects coming from
the national government to the intended beneficiaries.
The
activity, he further said, is a way of determining “if a local chief executive
is really performing in his locality though his/her reports on the on goings in
their respective area,” the DILG Secretary said. (Anne Acosta)
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