S. Upi SB undergoes performance assessment

OUTPUT PERFORMANCE --- Provincial Assessment and Evaluation on Local Legislative Award 2018 team in a pictorial pose with UpiSangguniang Bayan members headed by Vice Mayor Abdullah “Bedz” Campong. (Anne Acosta)

SOUTH UPI, Maguindanao ---The Sangguniang Bayan members of this town  headed by Vice Mayor Abdullah ‘Bedz” Campong has undergone the first ever Provincial Assessment and Evaluation on Local Legisative held at the Legislative Hall last November 27.

        The Provincial Assessment and Evaluation Committee 2018 was headed by Focal Person and Local Legislation Specialist Tarhata L. Balading of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Maguindanao.

        With the committee are Torombai M. Ambolodto of DILG-Maguindanao, Ampatuan Municipal Local Government Operations Officer (MLGOO) Nuhad Kamaong Kadil, Salama G. Kadon of the Provincial Agriculture Office, those from the Department of Social Welfare and Development – Maguindanao and Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and other composite team.

In their opening statements, both Mayor Reynalbert Insular and Vice Mayor Campong expressed their thankfulness to the assessment and evaluation team for choosing their locality as part of the program.

“This is an indication that your agencies are really helping us in correcting and evaluating our performances as legislators,”Vice Mayor Campong said.

South Upi MLGOO Cecilia Pilobillo said this is the first time ever that the DILG in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and that of Maguindanao conducted an assessment and evaluation on the performance of the local legislative body.

“Actually, this program is initiated by the Philippine Councilors’ League of the Philippine (PCL) and tied-up with the DILG. And for now, out of five provinces in the ARMM, only two provinces have been covered for this year,  Lanaodel Sur and Maguindanao,” she revealed.

In Maguindanao, only six municipalities are covered for this year’s program, namely: South Upi, Upi, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Datu Abdullah Sangki, Sultan Kudarat, and Pagalungan. These municipalities are vying for local legislative awards based on the SB performances.

        Local Legislation Officer Balading  relayed the mechanics and evaluation process of the programs, citing  the criteria and performance ratings:responsiveness of the legislative agenda, availability of legislative documents, effectiveness of performance of the Sanggunian, efficiency of performance of the Sanggunian (processes and procedures), quality of office set-up and staff complements, legislative citations and awards, and capacity development for legislators and staff.

“If all of the criteria are hit by the local legislative body of this town, there’s no reason for them not to pass the assessment and evaluation conducted by the provincial assessment team. The over-all total of this criteria is 100 percent and if you get a ratings of 85 percent, you are a qualified contender for  the regional level, the Local Legislative Award 2018,” Balading said.

The program is to give credit to the functional local legislative bodies and provide SB members with the learning process on legislation, PCL vice chair for Maguindanao Michael “Dats” Sinsuat, said.

The program implementation is covered under Memorandum Circular No. 88-130 which recognizes the innovations of local legislators and institutionalizes the system of the SB.

This year’s legislative award is the first through the initiative of the PCL in partnership with DILG.

“This legislative awards has its category to follow such as Rank 1 matches with same rank, like first class to first class municipality and the other one is 4thclass matches also with same class municipality or either with 6th class,” focal person Balading added. (Anne Acosta)