• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Bago Mayor Nicholas Yulo said the recognition of the city’s eco-tourism initiative to revive the Bago watershed “validates the outstanding involvement and support of our community-based organizations in conserving our natural endowments and improving the ecosystem services to protect the lives and livelihoods of Bagonhons”.
Bago City’s “Reviving the Majestic Diversity of Bago Watershed”, a ridge-to-reef environmental management/integrated ecosystem management approach, is one of the 17 national finalists in this year’s Galing Pook Awards.
The city is the lone local government unit in Negros Occidental that made it to the Top 17, with the 10 outstanding local governance programs to be awarded on Oct. 12.
“This commendation strengthens our resolve to continue our partnership with stakeholders in working for people-centered, planet-inspired and profit-oriented endeavors for a sustainable and progressive Bago City,” Yulo said.
Galing Pook Foundation recently unveiled 17 innovative local governance programs from a pool of 166 entries submitted by LGUs nationwide.
“These finalists have demonstrated remarkable dedication in ‘Leveling Up Local Governance Innovations Towards Building Resilient Communities’, the resource institution said in a press release, adding that the dominant themes of the 2023 Galing Pook Awards – agriculture, food security, environment, climate change adaptation, health, and social welfare – demonstrate the enduring spirit of innovation and community-driven solutions.
“These programs, shaped by the pressing challenges of our era, such as climate change and pandemic recovery, showcase the remarkable evolution and resilience of local governance over 30 years, symbolizing our unwavering dedication to building a more sustainable and resilient future,” Galing Pook chairperson Mel Senen Sarmiento stressed.
Aside from Bago, the other finalists include the “Fish from the Mountains: Bayawan Inland Aquaculture” entry of Bayawan City in Negros Oriental, Barangay Taloot, Argao, Cebu: Barangay Taloot Community-Based Integrated Approach, Bataan Province: 1Bataan Seal of Healthy Barangay, Cavite Province: LINKod Beyond Bars: An ICT-based Social Inclusion Program of Cavite Provincial Jail;
Davao Oriental Province: Happy Home, Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte: Seal of Health Governance: Local Health Leadership Approach as Response from Pandemic to Super Typhoon Odette, General Santos City: Shari’a Atas Bitiara, Iloilo City: Iloilo City Sports Academy: A Grassroots Sports Program for the Ilonggo Youth, Iloilo Province: Mobilizing Communities through People-Centered Zero Open Defecation Movement Towards Sustainable Sanitation in the Province of Iloilo;
Ligao City, Albay: Integrated Coastal Resource Management Program, Makati City: Virtual Queuing Management System, Mexico, Pampanga: Sustaining an LGU-Funded Community Hospital with a Hemodialysis Center, Ormoc City, Leyte: Saving Kan: A Love Story in Ormoc Bay (Marine Mammal and Reptile Rehabilitation Center), Pasig City: Pasig City Prehospital Care and Emergency Medical Services Medical Control Program, Quezon City: iRISE UP (Intelligent, Resilient, and Integrated Systems for the Urban Population), and Quezon City: Quezon City Birth Registration Online: Online Birth Registration Portal of the Quezon City Civil Registry Department.
The final panel presentation and interview will take place on Oct. 11, where the finalists will have the opportunity to showcase the impact of their programs. DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos will serve as chairperson of the 2023 Galing Pook Awards final board of judges, Galing Pook said.
It added that in its almost 30 years of existence, it has become a leading resource institution continuously promoting innovation and excellence in local governance.
Through Galing Pook programs, local chief executives and their teams are able to upgrade their knowledge and exchange best practices that can foster development in their own localities, the nongovernment organization said. In 2021, the province of Negros Occidental was one of the Top 10 Galing Pook grand winners for NOCWAMA, or the Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands Area Management Alliance, out of the 206 entries from LGUs all over the country. | CGC
