LGUs Lauded Under Capitol’s Our Cebu Program

After receiving the Seal of Good Local Governance in Manila, Governor Hilario P. Davide III led the recognition of Cebu’s local government units that have excelled in various development programs of the province.

Together with Vice Governor Agnes Magpale and Cebu’s first lady Mrs. Jobel Davide, awards and incentives were given to top performing municipalities, cities, barangays, schools and police stations under the Our Cebu Program (OCP) of the Capitol.

The Our Cebu Program, in collaboration with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc., was adopted as an institutional mechanism to measure performance of LGUs. It also encourages leaders to carry out good governance practices.

The scorecard incorporates appropriate standards and criteria in six key points: green, livability, inclusiveness and competitiveness, historical and cultural, resiliency and governance.

From second place in 2016, the City of Naga landed at the top spot this year as the most outstanding LGU in Cebu. Bogo City and the municipality of Liloan followed in second and third place, respectively. The municipality of San Francisco, a three-peat winner since 2014, came in fourth place.

The City of Naga was also a special awardee as outstanding LGU in resiliency category receiving a total of P1.1 million as cash prize for the two awards.

Other special awardees are: Tuburan for the Green category; Bogo City for Livability category; Liloan for Governance category; and Argao for Culture and Heritage category. Each winner received P100,000 in cash prize and a plaque.

For the barangay level, Barangay Valladolid of Carcar City bagged the grand prize while Barangay Santiago of San Francisco, Camotes Island and Barangay Gairan of Bogo City came in second and third place, respectively.

Bogo City’s Jovencio Masong National Highschool was top awardee for best performing school. Other top performing schools include: Carcar Central School, Naga City’s Mainit Elementary School, Tudela Central School and San Remigio’s Tambongon Elementary School. OCP awarded 15 schools with portable sound systems worth P45,000 each.

Vice Gov. Agnes A. Magpale also lauded Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. as the best non-government organization that an LGU could partner with for the implementation of the program.

Further, in her keynote address, the vice governor presented the Our Cebu mobile app to capture real-time data during the assessment.

The automation of data collection will enable provision of better information in addressing gaps and challenges in LGUs. The goal of the OCP is to create a performance assessment tool to serve as development guide in planning and budgeting programs of the Capitol’s departments.

By institutionalizing evidence and performance-based mechanisms such as the OCP, measuring societal impact in local communities will now be easier.

The awarding of winners for the Our Cebu Program was done during a grand awarding ceremony last November 28 at the Cebu Grand Convention Center, wherein the Capitol also acknowledged active participation of LGUs in several programs, including the Provincial Competitiveness Challenge by the Cebu Investment and Promotions Office, the Sugbo Kontra Droga (SUKOD) by the Cebu Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Office and the Most Child-Friendly LGU by the Provincial Council for the Welfare of Children. (CIPO Correspondent July Anne Guibone)

cebu.gov.ph