LEYTE province has won the Gawad Pamana ng Lahi award given by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
DILG Regional Director Francisco Jose said the Provincial Government went through rigid validation process conducted by the department.
Jose said winners in the regional validation will vie in the national awards with awarding rites slated October 11 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Manila.
In the city category, Ormoc bested Maasin and Catbalogan, while in the municipal category, Naval, Biliran won against Kawayan, Biliran and Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
With the win, Leyte will receive P3 million, Ormoc will get P2 million and Naval town will receive P1 million.
DILG launched the Gawad Pamana ng Lahi, an award for exemplary performance in local governance after DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo signed DILG Memorandum Circular 2011-113 dated August 9, 2011 regarding the objectives and guidelines of the award.
The award is conferred to a province, city or municipality for reason of exemplary performance in administrative, social, economic and environmental governance.
This yearly award is also an instrument to scale up the valuing of accountability, transparency and involvement to local administration and development.
Exemplary performance information is drawn from the database of the on-line Local Governance Performance Management System, Seal of Good Housekeeping, International Organization or National Government Agency-bestowed Awards, and acknowledged innovations.
Recently, Leyte was awarded with the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH) in recognition of its excellent performance in local governance.
Leyte is the only province in Eastern Visayas that was able to get the said recognition, said the DILG regional office.
The SGH is a mechanism comprising a set of criteria aimed at recognizing local government units (LGUs) with good performance in internal housekeeping, particularly in the areas of planning, sound fiscal management, transparency and accountability, and valuing performance management.
Among the key components of the SGH criteria are compliance to the mandates of the Anti-Red Tape Act, as well as to the Full Disclosure Policy of the DILG.
LGUs stamped with SGH should also have "no adverse" report from the Commission on Audit, which means that they should have complied with all the requirements of the government’s auditing agency.
Emphasis is also given to the LGU's compliance to the mandates of the Anti-Red Tape Act. (Leyte Samar Daily Express)
