Good housekeeping bonus for 15 local governments

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) released P30 million to reward 15 poor municipalities for their good performance in governance.

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said 15 local government units (LGUs) successfully obtained the seal of good housekeeping – meaning they exhibited strong performance in key areas of governance – and received P2 million each.

“The seal of good housekeeping was completed and is currently used to identify LGUs that exhibit strong performance in the key governance areas of planning, fiscal management, transparency and accountability and value performance monitoring,” said Robredo.

The DILG did not identify the 15 LGUs that were classified as fourth class to sixth class municipalities.

A fourth class municipality earns an average income of less than P30 million a year while a sixth class town earns P10 million a year.

The incentive was included in the accomplishment report of the DILG for the first 100 days of the present administration. The report was submitted to President Aquino last Monday.

Robredo pointed out that the seal of good housekeeping is essential for LGUs to avail of the performance challenge fund (PCF), a new program which aims to recognize LGUs that excel in governance.

He said the department’s Local Governance Performance Management System continues to show its relevance by guiding and helping more than half of all LGUs complete their state of local governance report and the state of development report.

He noted that by next year, P500 million would be allotted for the PCF program.

Robredo has been encouraging local government officials to disclose their local budget and finances in an effort to promote greater accountability and transparency in their fund utilization and financial transactions.