89 LGUs in Region 8
earn DILG’s seal of “Good Financial Housekeeping”
By MYLES JOSEPH E. COLASITO
March 4, 2015
TACLOBAN CITY –
Eighty-nine (89) or about 60% of local governments in Eastern Visayas
passed the Seal of Good Financial Housekeeping for 2014. [
see
list ]
This was revealed by
Regional Director Pedro A. Noval Jr. of the Department of the Interior
and Local Government (DILG) in Eastern Visayas who cited the official
list released recently by the DILG Bureau of Local Government
Supervision (BLGS).
“I am glad to report that
all six provinces in our region, namely: Leyte, Southern Leyte,
Biliran, Samar, Northern Samar and Eastern Samar passed the Seal of
GFH. So did six cities: Tacloban, Ormoc, and Baybay in Leyte; Maasin,
Southern Leyte; Borongan, Eastern Samar and Catbalogan, Samar,” said
Dir. Noval, adding that 77 of 136 municipalities also passed the GFH.
The GFH, a component of the
Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG), was formerly known as the Seal
of Good Housekeeping (SGH), which the Department initiated in 2010.
GFH applies the same SGH minimum criteria: that a local government
must have an Unqualified or Qualified COA Opinion for the previous
year, and full compliance with the Full Disclosure Policy (FDP).
RD Noval explained that for
an LGU to be a recipient of the stepped-up SGLG, it should also pass
the two other essential assessments on Disaster Preparedness and
Social Protection. It should likewise pass at least one of the three
essential assessments on Business Friendliness and Competitiveness,
Environmental Protection and Law & Order and Public Safety.
RD Noval said that the
assessment was conducted last year through cross posting of Regional
Assessment Teams (RATs) composed of DILG Field Officers,
representatives from CSOs and NGAs.
The complete list of GFH
passers is available at the DILG website www.dilg.gov.ph. The GFH
Certification is a requirement for local governments in order to
access loans pursuant to Local Finance Circular No. 1-2012, and to
avail of programs such as Grassroots Participatory Process (GPP) and
Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig sa Lahat (SALINTUBIG) program of DILG.
LGUs that failed to pass the
GFH have some immediate recourse if the reason was non-compliance with
the FDP. They simply have to fully observe FDP requirements on posting
to avail of the “After Assessment Compliance” and secure GFH
certification without waiting for the next assessment period.
On the other hand, if the
LGU was subjected to an “Adverse” or “Disclaimer” opinion from COA, it
should fully comply with all the findings in order to garner a passing
opinion on the next Annual Audit Report (AAR).