Pagadian City- OIC-Director Manuel Q. Gotis of the Bureau of Local Government Supervision graced the turn-over of 37 Million Performance Challenge Fund (PCF) checks to 27 recipient Local Government Units (LGUs) of region IX during the orientation of the guidelines in the implementation of the CY 2013 PCF at Mardale Hotel, Pagadian City on April 3, 2014.

 

Local Chief Executives, Provincial/City/ Municipal Planning and Development Coordinators, City/Municipal Local Government Operations Officers and Provincial PCF focal persons from recipient LGUs attended and witnessed the turn-over ceremony.

Timely on the conferment of checks, Director Gotis also gave a briefing / orientation on the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG), a challenge to local governments to continue good governance practices while providing better public services.

” The SGLG, according to Dir. Gotis, covers provinces, cities and municipalities which will be implemented annually starting CY 2014 with a national recognition and better rewards awaiting for SGLG recipients”.

Dir. Gotis said that to be an SGLG recipient the “3 plus 1 principle applies”. This means that an LGU needs to pass all the three (3) core assessment areas (Good Financial Housekeeping, Social Protection and Disaster Preparedness) and at least one (1) from the essential assessment areas (Business Friendliness and Competitiveness, Peace and Order, and Environmental Management).

A total of 37 Million was distributed by RD Paisal Abutazil with Dir. Manuel Gotis and ARD Pedro Cuevas to the recipient provinces, cities and municipalities. Province of Zamboanga Sibugay received seven million, three million each to the cities of Pagadian and Dipolog and one million each to the municipalities of Alicia, Buug, Diplahan, and Tungawan of Zamboanga Sibugay Province.

Another 1M each to the municipalities of Piñan, Tampilisan, Labason, Manukan, Polanco, Sergio Osmeña, Godod, Gutalac, Kalawit, La Libertad, Liloy, Siayan, and Sibutad of Zamboanga del Norte.

Municipalities of Zamboanga del Sur also received one million each namely: Aurora, Dumingag, Ramon Magsaysay, Kumalarang, Midsalip, Tukuran and Tabina.

In the opening remarks, DILG Regional Director Paisal O. Abutazil said that the event orients the LGU on the promotion of effective and honest governance particularly at the local level through intensive campaign on full disclosure of LGU performance which effort has been recognized by incentivizing the eligible LGUs in the form of a counterpart fund to finance high-impact local development projects identified by the LGU.

“A scale of Seven-Three-One Million will be given to recipient provinces, cities and municipalities respectively that qualify for the said program in which 27 of our LGUs are fortunate to receive such financial subsidy,” RD Abutazil added.

Elmer Egama, Regional PCF Focal Person, pointed out further that the activity enhances the knowledge of PCF recipient LGUs on the implementing guidelines as well as the preparation of the physical and financial accomplishment report.

Egama added that the new implementing guidelines specified the following that the PCF subsidy shall be used solely for one specific modular type of projects, that there shall be engagement of CSO in the PCF project cycle, that Cluster Leaders shall encode all project proposals in the PCF websites and that there shall be online reporting of the physical and financial accomplishment reports.

” It has been observed that the recipient LGUs are not keen in the preparation of Physical and financial reports and that submission of required documents are not responsive to the timeline set. Henceforth, such activity will familiarize recipient LGUs of the guidelines and their corresponding roles and responsibilities in the PCF program implementation”, Egama said.

Egama reiterated that eligible LGUs of the PCF are all provinces, cities, and municipalities that passed the Seal on Good Housekeeping (SGH) that have absence of adverse COA Opinion on LGU financial statement, compliance on Full Disclosure Policy, compliance to Procurement Act and Anti-Red Tape Act Report Card Survey of CSC.

” For CY 2014 and onwards, PCF will be given to LGUs that will pass the Seal of Good Local Governance, Egama said.