Committee evaluates Tacurong for Local Legislation Award

               The Provincial Award Committee of the Local Legislative Award evaluated the Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Tacurong on November 8, 2012.

                The Local Legislative Award is given to component cities and municipalities that exhibit excellent performance based on the effectiveness of local agenda and legislative tracking system, availability of legislative documents, efficiency of performance, and quality of office set-up and staff complement.

                Tacurong Sanggunian boasts of its 1,247 ordinances since 1956 to June 2012. In 2012, city councilors passed and approved 11 new ordinances on: requiring pregnant women to give birth in the city birthing home; establishment of bagsakan center; drag racing ban; institutionalization of the Iskolar ng Lungsod ng Tacurong program; prohibition of posting/nailing/hanging/pasting political and advertising materials; and budget appropriations.

                The provincial Committee lauded the unit’s performance including its efficient processes in dealing with clients and its office ergonomics.

Members of the Provincial Award Committee during their
courtesy  call with Mayor Lina O. Montilla.

As the only component city in Sultan Kudarat (SK), Tacurong hopes to make it to the regional level and compete with Koronadal City and Kidapawan City.

                “Of course, our qualification will not only be about Tacurong being the only city in SK. I believe that our sanggunian’s performance is really worth recognizing,” said Mayor Lina Montilla.

Mayor Montilla also spoke well of the outstanding leadership of Vice Mayor Charito Collado. In 2009 and with VM Collado at the helm, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Tacurong was recognized as Regional Local Legislative Award winner. The City represented Region XII to the national level.

The Local Legislative Award was launched in 2006 by the Philippine Councilors League (PCL) in partnership with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to recognize the exemplary performance of Sanggunian of component cities and municipalities in legislating measures that establish meaningful local administration and development. 

Jezereel Louise C. Billano

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Tacurong is Mindanao's best-performing city in local governance

       Of the five cities selected as national finalists for this year’s Gawad Pamana ng Lahi of the Department of Interior and Local Government, only Tacurong managed to join an elite group composed of cities all coming from Luzon.

       Tacurong, the only city finalist from Mindanao, together with the cities of Vigan, Santiago, Puerto Princesa,and Makati, received an invitation from the Department of Interior and Local Government to gather in Manila on October 18 for the final screening of the Gawad Pamana ng Lahi or GPL.

       The final screening, a panel interview with the city mayors, was the final step in the selection process to determine which city will emerge as the country’s national winner of the Gawad Pamana ng Lahi, a total award concept that recognizes best-performing local government units in governance.

      Aside from cities, finalists for the provincial and municipal categories were also called by the DILG for the panel interview. Finalists for the provincial category are Benguet, Albay, Nueva Vizcaya, and Cavite; while Carmona (Cavite), Moncayo (Compostela Valley), Jagna (Bohol), Anilao (Iloilo), and San Nicolas (Ilocos Norte) rounded up the finalists under the municipal category.

       Results of the panel interview are expected to be released within this week and the awarding ceremonies are tentatively scheduled on October 26. However, regardless of what city gets declared as national winner, officials and employees of the city government of Tacurong are already brimming with joy and pride for being shortlisted as finalist. “Being in the top five and the only one from Mindanao is already a huge accomplishment of the city government”, Tacurong City Mayor Lina Montilla said.
       Gawad Pamana ng Lahi is one of the highest awards conferred by the DILG to a province, city or municipality that exhibited exemplary performance in five areas of governance, namely: administrative, social, economic, and environmental governance. It is also an instrument to scale-up the valuing of accountability, transparency and inclusivity in local administration and development.

       To become eligible for the National Gawad Pamana ng Lahi, a Local Government Unit (LGU) must be a regional winner of the said award in its region. It must also have a validated Local Government Performance Management System (LGPMS) average rating of 4.31 (the highest rating is 5).

       It must also be stamped with the Silver Seal of Good Housekeeping, which means the LGU excels in the areas of accountable governance, transparent governance, and frontline service performance. Another requirement to become eligible for the National GPL is that an LGU must have introduced high-impact innovations in governance in the last three years; and that it must be at least a regional or national awardee of any award in local governance in the preceding year of the evaluation.

       After besting other cities in Region 12 during the evaluation conducted in July, Tacurong was declared as the regional winner and automatically became a finalist for the national award. From among the thirteen regional winners under the city category, top five cities were selected and the city of Tacurong made it to the upper five.

Allan S. Freno

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