More than 800 LGUs pass good governance test

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said a total of 866 provinces, cities and municipalities made it to the list of local governments that passed the criteria of the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH).

DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo said of the total local government units (LGUs), 17 cities and 302 municipalities belong to the first round of SGH recipients (covering fourth to sixth class cities and municipalities); while 45 provinces, 46 cities and 456 municipalities belong to the second round (covering provinces and first to third class cities and municipalities).

“Before we only focused on fourth to sixth class LGUs, but this time, we assessed all provinces, cities and municipalities because they all deserve to be acknowledged for their good governance initiatives,” said Robredo.

Out of the 866 LGUs, 487 are from Luzon, 125 are from Visayas and 254 are from Mindanao.

“These LGUs have complied with the Department’s full disclosure policy and have no adverse or disclaimer opinion rendered by the Commission on Audit (COA) on their financial reports,” he said.

The SGH is a program that aims to recognize LGUs that accord primacy to the principles of accountability and transparency since such are essential in building the long term foundation of a responsible local government system in the country.

“We are pleased that more and more LGUs are with us in the journey towards greater transparency, accountability, responsiveness and performance in governance,” Robredo said. –Jun Pasaylo, Philippine Star