Nineteen (19) Local Government Units (LGUs) in Region 13-Caraga were shortlisted for the 2023 Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) National Validation and will be validated this September 26-29, 2023 by the validators from DILG Region VIII (Eastern Visayas).

Of the nineteen (19) LGUs to be validated, five (5) LGUs are potential passers while fourteen (14) LGUs are conditional passers with pending requests for appeal and data verification. These LGUs are the following:

SGLG Potential Passers:

• City of Tandag, Surigao del Sur
• Municipality of Trento, Agusan del Sur
• Municipality of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur
• Municipality of Carmen, Surigao del Sur
• Municipality of Claver, Surigao del Norte

SGLG Conditional Passers:

• Province of Agusan del Norte
• Province of Dinagat Islands
• Municipality of Bacuag, Surigao del Norte
• Municipality of Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte
• Municipality of Sta. Monica, Surigao del Norte
• Municipality of Tubod, Surigao del Norte
• Municipality of Surigao City, Surigao del Norte
• Municipality of Santiago, Agusan del Norte
• Municipality of Tubay, Agusan del Norte
• Municipality of Loreto, Agusan del Sur
• Municipality of Sibagat, Agusan del Sur
• Municipality of Cagdianao, Dinagat Islands
• Municipality of Cagwait, Surigao del Sur
• Municipality ofCarrascal, Surigao del Sur

DILG Region 13 – Caraga welcomes the National Validators from DILG VIII (Eastern Visayas) for the 2023 Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) National Validation at Surigao City Port on Monday – September 25, 2023.

The National Validators from DILG Region VIII are the following:

• DILG Regional Director Arnel M. Agabe, CESO III
• LGOO VII Joy Frances M. Monsanto
• CLGOO Jean Redi Briones
• LGOO VI Jhonel M. Anavesa
• LGOO V Maria Imelda A. Orilla
• LGOO V Jenna A. Negros
• LGOO V Francis Gabriel Juaton
• LGOO V Blessie P. De Leon
• LGOO III Art Robin M. Nagpacan
• LGOO II Kathleen Ruth E. Lerios
• LGOO II Dionesa Marie A. Apura

This year is the 2nd year of the implementation of Republic Act No. 11292 or The SGLG Act of 2019. The Seal is an institutionalized award, incentive, honor, and recognition-based program that gauges the performance of LGUs on the ten (10) governance areas.

The 2023 Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) bears the theme: “Pagkilala sa Katapatan at Kahusayan ng Pamahalaang Lokal”.

SGLG enables the LGUs to foster a culture of good governance amid the challenges in the local government landscape.

With the success of the first year of implementation of Republic Act No. 11292 or the SGLG Act last year, the Seal carries on with the “All-in” assessment approach, where an LGU must pass all ten (10) governance areas: (1) Financial Administration and Sustainability; (2) Disaster Preparedness; (3) Social Protection and Sensitivity; (4) Health Compliance and Responsiveness; (5) Sustainable Education; (6) Business-Friendliness and Competitiveness; (7) Safety, Peace and Order; (8) Environmental Management; (9)Tourism, Heritage Development, Culture and Arts; and (10) Youth Development.

This year, performance measures are further upgraded to also gauge outcome-oriented efforts of the LGUs. As the Seal maintains its progressive nature, its response to various concerns in local administration and service delivery remains to be anchored on its thrust of giving distinction and incentivizing good performance.

With the setting in of the new administration and the adoption of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the Seal also anticipates and seeks to influence potential actions of LGUs in response to these changes through direction-setting and strengthened performance information, as we all look forward to a more prosperous, inclusive, and resilient society– all through tapat at mahusay na pamahalaang lokal!

Consistent with Section 9 of RA 11292, it shall be the burden of an LGU to show that it qualifies for the Seal. Assessment results shall be subjected to further deliberation to ensure alignment to the objectives and principles of SGLG.

It is emphasized that inclusion in the shortlist for the National Validation does not automatically guarantee passing the SGLG. There will be other stages of the assessment, such as the presentation of the results to, and deliberation of, the Council of Good Local Governance (CGLG).## (LGOO VI Florian Faith Jr. P. Bayawa)