Only LGUs with top performing Peace and Order Councils to qualify for SGLG

CEBU, Philippines — Local government units (LGU) all over the country will have to ensure safety and security is part of their main priority as only those with high-performing Peace and Order Councils will be eligible for the prestigious Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) Awards this year.

"Peace and order is an integral governance area that needs to be prioritized by our LGUs. This is why LGUs with high-performing POCs are the only ones eligible to bag the much-coveted SGLG,” Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos said in a statement.

DILG emphasized that the POC serves as the government’s platform for stronger collaboration of the LGU with law enforcement agencies and the community to fight criminality, illegal drugs, insurgency, and violent extremism.

Under the guidelines, POCs with a performance rating of 85 percent and above shall be considered eligible and qualified for the SGLG Award under the governance area of Safety, Peace and Order.

“Ngayong taon, mas mahirap pumasa sa POC performance audit. Kaya dito natin masusukat kung talagang na-itataguyod ang kaayusan at kapayapaan sa mga lokalidad, kung talagang nagtatrabaho ang POCs sa ating bansa,” Abalos said.

This development came after DILG released the guidelines for the 2023 POC Audit.

The POC audit itself aims to assess the performance of the Regional, Provincial, City, and Municipal POCs; as well as identify their innovations; and determine possible interventions and improvement strategies.

The said audit will cover a total of 1,733 regional, provincial, city, and municipal POCs.

The performance audit process of POCs will be done online through the POC audit system and will be guided by two main pillars— functionality and development.

The functionality pillar aims to assess POCs based on their capacity to deliver their basic functions and responsibilities as outlined by the Omnibus Guidelines on POCs. Indicators include organization, meetings, policies, plans, budget, general supervision, and innovation.

Development indicators include addressing criminality; ensuring public safety; gender sensitivity; and citizen participation.

The National Audit Committee (NAC) conducts the audit processes for the regional POCs (RPOCs) and the Regional Audit Committees (RACs) for the provincial, highly urbanized city/independent component city POCs while Provincial Audit Committees will handle component city and municipal POCs.