Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson recently called a meeting of provincial government department heads to discuss the province’s shortcomings in failing to secure a Seal of Good Local Governance this year.
According to Lacson, a primary factor was the province not reaching the minimum 10 percent criteria of localities receiving the award. He explained, “A province can only qualify if there are no less than four local government units to receive the seal.”
Aside from Bacolod City, the governor identified San Carlos City, Silay City, and Victorias City as the only local government units in the province to receive the award.
Within the Western Visayas, Aklan was the only province recognized.
The seal is an incentive program by the Department of the Interior and Local Government that recognizes and rewards local government units for “excellent service and high standards of governance.”
Recognition for the seal is divided into nine core areas, including disaster preparedness, social protection, peace and order, business-friendliness and competitiveness, environmental protection, tourism, culture and the arts, health, and education; and provinces, municipalities and cities, and barangays are eligible to receive the distinction./DGB, WDJ