LGU MANOLO FORTICH, ONE STEP AWAY FROM SGLG RECOGNITION

Will LGU Manolo Fortich make it this year?

The 2023 Seal of Good Local Governance National Validation, organized by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, was conducted in the Municipality of Manolo Fortich on Monday, October 2, of this year. This is the third level of evaluation out of 4 steps that is needed for the recognition.

The SGLG is an award which serves as an encouragement for LGUs to continue improving their services and governance practices. This evaluation is conducted by a national validation team this time, which is composed of evaluators from Region 12 assigned to the municipality of Manolo Fortich headed by DILG Assistant Regional Director Lailyn A. Ortiz CESO V.

There are 10 governance areas that are evaluated during this process:

Youth Development

Environmental Management

Social Protection and Sensitivity

Financial Administration and Sustainability

Tourism, Heritage Development, Culture, and the Arts

Safety, Peace, and Order

Business-Friendliness and Competitiveness

Sustainable Education

Health Compliance and Responsiveness

Disaster Preparedness

The Local Government of Manolo Fortich has passed the two previous stages which are the Regional Assessment and National Calibration. The National Assessment involves the verification of documents submitted during the National Calibration. It also includes onsite inspections, document inspections, and interviews as part of the evaluation process.

The entire local government team of Manolo Fortich led by Municipal Mayor Rogelio N. Quiño and Vice Mayor Reynaldo L. Bagayas Jr., along with various agencies like the Department of Education and the Philippine National Police, participated in this evaluation. Mayor Quiño acknowledged the difficulty of achieving the said recognition. “Looking at some of the requirements para sa mamahimo kang qualifier sa Seal of Good Local Governance, daghan jud kaayo, kuti kaayo pero this is the job of the empleyado sa gobyerno that we have to comply. Dili jud mawala ang mga kakulangon but we are trying our best to comply kay matod pa nila this is the barometro sa serbisyo sa usa ka local government. This is the gauge of our performance.” the mayor said.

After the onsite inspection, interviews, and document verification, feedback was given by the evaluators, highlighting positive comments on the good practices observed in the municipality's offices and projects. However, as of October 2, there are still documents that needs to be submitted as support for the verification. The DILG Regional Director explained the status of the verification during the feedback session, “If you can give the remaining documents to us by tomorrow, then we can safely say that your LGU will be endorsed to the National Council of Awards. The National Council of Awards will decide if talagang papasa kayo based on your documents.”

In response to the feedback, Vice Mayor Reynaldo Bagayas Jr. expressed his sentiments in the closing part of the validation. “Daghan jud wala katulog gabie ug daghan pod nag panic ganinang buntag but because of your expert kaayo nga pag-handle sa amoa medyo jud na gaan-gaan. Usahay maulaw ko nga sigeg ka-mention sakong position pero it’s all about these people. Of course, we thank the guidance of our MGLOO si Ma’am Lotlot nga smiling kaayo permi and to everyone no, I’m sure nga grabe jud inyong paningkamot ani throughout the years. Medyo taod-taod na jud ni nga sige natog kumbatihon ang SGLG. I’m sure there are more innovations in the next coming years.”