Mandaue reaches PGS tilt finals

CEBU, Philippines - Mandaue City officials are in Manila for the last phase of the screening process for the search for the next local government in the country where the Performance Government System (PGS) is institutionalized.

Mayor Jonas Cortes, some department heads and city councilors were scheduled to defend Mandaue’s PGS yesterday afternoon before a panel of experts from the Institute of Solidarity in Asia.

ISA introduced PGS to LGUs as a way of combating corruption in the local government. So far, only Naga City in Camarines Sur, then headed by the late mayor Jesse Robredo, got an affirmation from ISA as the first LGU to have an institutionalized system.

Roger Paller, city information officer, said the city hopes to come next to Naga and to be the first in Cebu to continuously implement such program.  This after Cebu City adapted it a few years ago but had decided to discontinue the practice.

Paller explained that if the city gets this prize, investors from all over the world would not hesitate in pouring their money to the city as they are assured that all transactions are now free from red tape.

In 2011, Cortes introduced PGS in running the city government but had only succeeded in the three phases so far due to some hurdles in the implementation of some programs.

According to Paller, this was largely because the public was used to the old ways and refused to embrace a transparent government.

“Lisod i-implement, daghan man naanad sa karaan nga style. That’s why the mayor came up with the ‘I am Mandaue’ concept, which gives every Mandauehanon a sense of ownership of the city,” he said.

The PGS system provides a score card to every employee of the city, regular or job order, wherein their daily and weekly performance is outlined and evaluated every end of the month.

Sometime in June, a team of independent auditors from ISA made a surprise visit at the City Hall and checked how each department ran its respective areas.

Paler said there was no prior notice that the group was coming, hence they were not unprepared. But the results of that audit had brought them to the final level, he said.

He said when they passed the fourth and final phase, which is the institutionalization of Mandaue’s PGS, whoever sits as mayor after Cortes is assured that the current system will still be continued.

Along with Mandaue, the cities of Iloilo, Tagbilaran, Dipolog and Butuan are also vying for a full-fledged PGS seal.

The results of the screening will be announced before October ends, Paller said. (FREEMAN)