The Department of the Interior and Local Government revealed on Friday that a total of 493 local government units across the country have qualified for the 2023 Seal of Good Local Governance for complying with standards of efficient leadership and outstanding public service.

DILG Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said that this year's SGLG awardees consist of 28 provinces, 64 cities and 401 municipalities and of the total, 94 LGUs bagged the award for the first time.

He disclosed that Central Luzon topped the list of awardees with 84, followed by Ilocos Region with 70 and Cagayan Valley with 41 while 11 Metro Manila cities also bagged the award — Caloocan, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Pasay, Pasig, San Juan, Quezon City and Valenzuela.

"Congratulations to our 2023 SGLG awardees," Abalos said. "Your success is truly remarkable because this year, we used stricter criteria in evaluating local governments."

Abalos also said that the SGLG's upgraded performance standards now focus on the outcome of the LGUs' efforts in addressing current challenges in local administration and public service delivery.

Enacted through Republic Act 11292, the SGLG is an institutionalized award, incentive, honor, and recognition-based program that encourages LGUs to commit to continuously progress and improve their performance along various governance areas.

To receive the SGLG award, LGUs must pass the assessment criteria across various governance areas — financial administration; disaster preparedness; social protection and sensitivity; health compliance and responsiveness; sustainable education; business-friendliness and competitiveness; safety, peace, and order; environmental management; tourism, heritage development, culture, and the arts; and youth development.

All LGU awardees will receive an SGLG marker and an SGLG Incentive Fund of P4 million for provinces, P2.3 million for cities, and P1.8 million for municipalities.

With Jing Villamente