Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla congratulated over the weekend, the 14 local government units (LGUs) for their digitization efforts to champion citizen participation during the first-ever Digital Democracy Awards.

“I come here tonight to congratulate all of you for the digital democracy awards. The awardees tonight have done immense strides in the field of digital governance,” Remulla said during the awards program organized by the Makati Business Club.

“Today is about hope, today is about conquering cynicism, today is about recognizing those who do best, so I congratulate all of you,” he added. 

Among the LGUs given special recognition are Batangas City (Leadership); Muntinlupa City (Data Stewardship); Naga City (Citizen-led Policy); Quezon City (People’s Participation); Tagbilaran City (Outstanding Public Communication); and Isabela City in Basilan (Digital Trailblazer).

“They (LGUs) exemplify hope and these awards (Digital Democracy Awards) exemplify that. I hope that today inspires other local leaders that it’s about the country, and not about just us,” he added.

The other eight partner LGUs that were recognized as Digital Democracy Champions are the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Himamaylan, Iligan, Masbate, San Fernando City in La Union, Tagum, Victorias and Zamboanga.

In partnership with the United States Agency for International Development Philippines, MBC launched the awards program in August 2024 to recognize LGUs for demonstrating strong leadership in digital democracy initiatives.