Mati City LGU governance worthy of emulation and recognition – DILG XI

MATI CITY, Davao Oriental, September 18 — The Department of Interior and Local Government recently hailed the Provincial Government of Davao Oriental among the best prime movers of government programs deemed worthy of emulation and recognition as it became one of this year’s awardees for the DILG’s prestigious 2015 Seal of Good Local Governance.

DILG XI Regional Director Ananias M. Villacorta congratulated the Provincial Government of Davao Oriental under the leadership of Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon for meeting all the criteria of the Core Components of the Seal as follows: Good Financial Housekeeping, Social Protection and Disaster Preparedness.

The Provincial Government has also met the requirements for all of the following Essential Components of the Seal: Business-friendliness and Competitiveness, Environmental Management, and Peace and Order.

DILG Secretary Mar Roxas, in his letter to Gov. Malanyaon, said that passing the Seal entitles the LGU to access the Performance Challenge Fund for this year, allows the province to secure the GFH Certification for loan purposes, and provides an opportunity to avail other national program windows like Bottom-Up Budgeting Program and the SALINTUBIG Program.

During the awarding ceremony last September 7, the Provincial Government received a Performance Challenge Fund check amounting to PhP7 million as well as an incentive check amounting to PhP6 million for being a Seal of Good Housekeeping Silver Awardee for 2013 and 2014 and for passing the Seal of Good Financial Housekeeping.

Villacorta highlighted Davao Oriental’s transparency and compliance with the DILG’s full-disclosure policy and no adverse findings from the Commission on Audit for passing the Good Financial Housekeeping component.

Gov. Malanyaon, in her acceptance speech, attributed this garnered success to the hard work, team effort and commitment of all Capitol employees, department heads, and all stakeholders who have been effective in the implementation of the government’s development programs and projects.

“This award symbolizes our integrity and a testament ofour good performance and good track record,” she said.

To date, Davao Oriental also holds the title of Gawad Pamana ng Lahi Regional Champion for its excellent performance in all areas of governance, along with its best practices and innovations which dramatically transformed the lives of its people.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

For Gov. Malanyaon, the ingredients needed to craft government programs that respond to the urgent needs of the people are not hard to come by. They only need to be harnessed.

The value of competent leadership, she says, cannot be overemphasized as from this well also springs the ability to galvanize the people into action. Meaningful participation of the people is a major factor behind the success of her programs. Without their support, even the most compelling vision will not have any hope of turning into a reality, according to her.

By setting the right examples for the ultimate objective of effecting a better provincial government-- a more professionalized, energized, empowered and humanized bureaucracy, a positive working attitude was inculcated especially among employees of the provincial government.

Change in culture is seen on the part of the Capitol employees from a culture of well-entrenched political patronage into a service-oriented bureaucracy.

The governor emphasized that if the provincial government could provide fast and honest service to the residents, tourists and investors, the local economy would improve and it would translate to improved living standards for the people.

The people of Davao Oriental have witnessed the rapid transformation of their primary resource, which is the land, from idle to productive and sustainable farms.

The Department of Agriculture has just awarded the province for being the new top producer of rice in the country, making Davao Oriental the new leader in agricultural production.

However, the Internal Peace and Security Plan or Bayanihan program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines was piloted in Davao Oriental to great success, with government and the military cooperating in bringing development projects to far-flung areas especially those called GIDAs or Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas which are far from vital government and private resources.

With food and income security and the requisite social services, Governor Malanyaon hopes to sustain the “development-ready” status of the province.

The governor has also succeeded in her campaign for the inscription of the province’s crown jewel, the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, to the highly prestigious World Heritage List. Calling it a paradise, the governor wants her people to learn to appreciate and love nature and live with it and not on its wildlife.

Mount Hamiguitan has become the first and only place in the island of Mindanao declared as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO, adding worldwide prestige to a province known as the “sunrise capital” of the Philippines.

Governor Malanyaon also says her province now aims for a climate-proof and disaster-proof development, which means that disaster risk reduction and climate change actions are built-in of the central economic strategy, and not as a contingency plan. And these are backed up by policies.

For instance, now, no developments in terms of infrastructure will be allowed in the danger zones, enabling the province to build safer areas for habitation and business. The governor strives to reach a high level of community preparation or social mobilization so they will be able to reduce significantly the risk especially to lives and property despite the presence of many disasters.

The governor says safe development plus good governance is equal to shared economic growth.

The various awards received by the provincial government and the governor are testaments to their achievements. Governor Malanyaon says one of her best rewards is the permeation of the culture of shared governance among her people. She is aware that eventually, she has to step down as governor.

But with the people of Davao Oriental imbibing the culture of excellence in good governance, she is not worried. Her political will, her commitment to achieve the goals she has set out to accomplish, brings about perseverance, which eventually overcomes her constituents’ doubts.

Meanwhile, alongside the Provincial Government of Davao Oriental, the Municipality of Boston under the leadership of Mayor RebeccoRosit, also received the 2015 SGLG Award.

The only municipality in the province and one among the three LGUs in the region that earned this award, LGU Boston, likewise, received an incentive check amounting to P 3 million to be spent on other priority development projects. (By Ferdinand Zuasola with report from Karen Lou Deloso/PIO DO)