THIS WEDNESDAY, five Pampanga municipalities were bestowed the Seal of Good Housekeeping by the Department of Interior and Local Government.
Mayors Yolly Pineda of Sta Rita, Lito Naguit of Sto. Tomas, Peter Flores of Masantol, Rommel Concepcion of Sta. Ana, and Jomar Hizon of Bacolor stood tall and proud as they received their respective medals and seals for their administrations’ qualifying and passing in the fourth round of assessment by the DILG in the areas of good planning, fiscal management, transparency and accountability, and performance monitoring.
“Ito na ang pinakamagandang nangyari sa kapuluan at sa kasalukuyang administrasyon. Ito ay patungo sa tuwid na daan at pagbabago.
Sana ay patuloy tayong maging kasangkapan sa pagbabago at pagtaas ng antas ng buhay ng ating mga kababayan. Congratulations and mabuhay.”
So were the SGH awardees extolled by the multi-awarded City of San Fernando Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez whose domain is a two-time Gawad Galing Pook winner and the recipient of the Gawad Pamana ng Lahi from the DILG last year.
“We are truly proud to have you as our partners. Having 137 recipients of the Seal of Good Housekeeping has made Central Luzon one of the top regions in the country to have most municipalities cited for good governance.
We thank you for your support and cooperation.”
So were the SGH awardees hailed by DILG regional director Florida Dijan.
Ain’t there some slip there? Some dagdag but no bawas in the figure Dijan cited?
There are but 117 municipalities in the whole of Central Luzon, so what, who, where were the extra 20 Dijan was “truly proud of”?
In cases like this, there’s but one to turn to – Google.
The Wikipedia was no help – blacked out as it was in some 24-hour protest against proposed legislation in the U.S. Congress called “Stop Online Piracy Act,” (SOPA) and the “Protect IP Act” (PIPA) that are said to be intended to protect intellectual property but opponents say could lead to censorship.
Government websites though readily gave the answer – local government units in Central Luzon are broken down as: 7 provinces, 13 cities, 117 municipalities, and 3,102 barangays.
So Dijan’s 137 SGH recipients comprised all the LGUs, excluding the barangays. Which, in effect, made the whole of Central Luzon a perfect region in the field of good governance.
Excellent as the LGUs are in “good planning, fiscal management, transparency and accountability, and performance monitoring” – the standards set for the SGH.
A perfect region? Central Luzon, as a whole, definitely is not. Not in the ways of good governance. Not even in keeping house.
The LGUs’ collective failure in solid waste management – as manifested in the continuing operation of open dumpsites, the non-enforcement of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts – as certified by the stench from piggeries, poultries and factories, the industrial-wasted creeks and rivers, totally negated the spirit, the intent, the very words of the Seal of Good Housekeeping.
So how many of the region’s local government executives are subjects of past, as well as current, cases and complaints before the Ombudsman?
By giving out the SGH to all the LGUs in Central Luzon, the DILG has succeeded only in trivializing the otherwise most eminent recognition they can ever aspire – and really work hard – for.
And in so doing scratched the sheen out of the SGH given to the truly deserving – like the cities of Angeles, Olongapo and San Fernando, and the province of Pampanga.
