December 14 was a historic milestone for San Carlos City in Negros Occidental as Mayor Renato Gustilo led city officials in receiving their 7th Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) Award from Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary, Benhur Abalos, in a ceremony in Manila.
“San Carlos is among the eight cities in the entire country and the only city in the Visayas to have been awarded for seven consecutive years,” Gustilo proudly posted after receiving this year’s SGLG.
“This SGLG award is the long-enduring testament of our consistency in delivering good governance and quality public service. Together, we proudly say, Vamos, San Carlos!” the mayor stressed.
The DILG said San Carlos is among the elite 22 local government units in the circle of seven-time passers, after sustaining their good performance since 2015 when the SGLG was first conferred.
The award comes with a P2.3 million incentive fund.
Republic Act No. 11292, or the Seal of Good Local Governance Act of 2019, institutionalized the SGLG, an incentive, honor, and recognition-based program of the DILG that encourages LGUs’ commitment to continuous progress and to improving their performance along various governance areas.
An LGU must pass all governance areas, namely, Financial Administration and Sustainability, Disaster Preparedness, Social Protection and Sensitivity, Health Compliance and Responsiveness, Sustainable Education, Business-Friendliness and Competitiveness, Safety, Peace and Order, Environmental Management, Tourism, Heritage Development, Culture and Arts, and Youth Development, to be able to get the SGLG Marker and corresponding incentive.
For a province awardee, the incentive fund is P4 million, P2.3 million for a city passer, and P1.8 million for a municipality winner.
This year, Negros Occidental had the most number of awardees in Western Visayas, with 11 LGUs, among them the province and the highly-urbanized Bacolod City.
Aside from San Carlos, the cities of Victorias, Cadiz, Escalante, Himamaylan, Sagay, and Talisay, and the towns of La Castellana and Manapla are also SGLG awardees. | SCC photos
