THE BILL institutionalizing an incentive program for local government units (LGUs) called the Seal of Good Local Governance has hurdled the bicameral conference committee level. The proposed measure gives LGUs, which implement successful programs for their constituencies, recognition and performance-based cash grants they could use to supplement funding for local development projects. It creates the Council of Good Local Governance (CGLG) that will assess the performance of LGUs in 10 areas: good fiscal administration, disaster preparedness, social protection and sensitivity program, health compliance and responsiveness, sustainable education, business friendliness and competitiveness, safety, peace and order, environmental management, tourism, heritage development, culture and arts, and youth development. The proposed CGLG, which will have the authority to determine the monetary incentives, will be chaired by the Department of the Interior and Local Government and will be composed of the Departments of Budget and Management, Finance, the National Economic and Development Authority, as well as representatives from the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) and civil society organizations. The cash incentives will be sourced from an allocation under the annual national budget. Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, chair of the Senate committee on local government, said in a statement on Sunday, “This noble program should be immortalized and enshrined as law of the land because it encourages LGUs to take on greater challenges and perform better in pursuing the general welfare of their constituencies and in enforcing existing laws.” — Camille A. Aguinaldo

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