COTABATO CITY —A southern city in the Bangsamoro region has set a record by receiving its seventh Seal of Good Local Governance award from the national government in eight years.
Barangay officials in Lamitan City, one of two cities in Basilan in the Bangsamoro region, told reporters on Monday, December 16, that their mayor, Roderick Furigay, received their local government unit’s seventh Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) award, during a symbolic rite in Manila last week, facilitated by the central office of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Several other LGUs in other regions in Mindanao also received SGLGs during the event.
The yearly grant by the DILG of an SGLG to municipal, provincial and city governments is based on the extensive implementation of peace and security, socio-economic and environment-protection programs of each nominee.
“We are happy and mighty proud of our local government’s having received its seventh SGLG award in a span of eight years. That is something first ever in the Bangsamoro region,” the president of the 45-member Association of Barangay Captains in Lamitan City, Joseph Manuel, said.
Officials of the DILG regional offices in Region 9 and 12 said the SGLG award is something that the department does not grant to an LGU whose chief executive has a graft case in the Ombudsman, or any court, has issues with the Commission on Audit, or is involved in criminal activities.
Furigay, who had served as mayor and vice mayor before he again got to the helm of the Lamitan City LGU during the 2022 elections, is seeking reelection in 2025 unopposed.
Ronald Hallid Torres, chairman of the Bangsamoro Business Council, said on Monday that Lamitan City’s having received its seventh SGLG award augurs well with their effort of enticing more investors from outside to venture into viable income-generating projects in its 45 barangays.
“Investors from other regions and from abroad always check first how efficient are the LGUs in areas where they intend to pour in huge capitals for viable business projects. We can tell them that the Lamitan City LGU is performing well,” Torres said.
Lamitan City is one of the two cities in Basilan, which is one of the five provinces in the Bangsamoro region. The island province, close to Zamboanga City, also has 11 towns.
Two of the 11 towns in Basilan, Maluso and Sumisip, also received SGLG awards during last week's awarding program at the Manila Hotel in Manila. It was the fifth that Maluso had and Sumisip's sixth in just six years. Isabela City, also in Basilan, also received an SGLG from the DILG.
Furigay attributed the achievement of receiving the seventh SGLG to the collective efforts of all 45 barangay governments in Lamitan City, the employees of divisions under his office, and the city council, led by Vice Mayor Hegem Furigay.
The DILG also awarded the Lamitan City LGU a P2 million incentive, along with its latest SGLG award, which can be used to fund public service initiatives.