Tacloban City – Eighty-nine (89) or about 60% of local governments in Eastern Visayas passed the Seal of Good Financial Housekeeping for 2014.
This was revealed by Regional Director Pedro A. Noval Jr. of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Eastern Visayas who cited the official list released recently by the DILG Bureau of Local Government Supervision (BLGS).
“I am glad to report that all six provinces in our region, namely: Leyte, Southern Leyte, Biliran, Samar, Northern Samar and Eastern Samar passed the Seal of GFH. So did six cities: Tacloban, Ormoc, and Baybay in Leyte; Maasin, Southern Leyte; Borongan, Eastern Samar and Catbalogan, Samar, ” said Dir. Noval, adding that 77 of 136 municipalities also passed the GFH.
The GFH, a component of the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG), was formerly known as the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH), which the Department initiated in 2010. GFH applies the same SGH minimum criteria: that a local government must have an Unqualified or Qualified COA Opinion for the previous year, and full compliance with the Full Disclosure Policy (FDP).
RD Noval explained that for an LGU to be a recipient of the stepped-up SGLG, it should also pass the two other essential assessments on Disaster Preparedness and Social Protection. It should likewise pass at least one of the three essential assessments on Business Friendliness and Competitiveness, Environmental Protection and Law & Order and Public Safety.
RD Noval said that the assessment was conducted last year through cross posting of Regional Assessment Teams (RATs) composed of DILG Field Officers, representatives from CSOs and NGAs.
The complete list of GFH passers is available at the DILG website www.dilg.gov.ph. The GFH Certification is a requirement for local governments in order to access loans pursuant to Local Finance Circular No. 1-2012, and to avail of programs such as Grassroots Participatory Process (GPP) and Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig sa Lahat (SALINTUBIG) program of DILG.
LGUs that failed to pass the GFH have some immediate recourse if the reason was non-compliance with the FDP. They simply have to fully observe FDP requirements on posting to avail of the “After Assessment Compliance” and secure GFH certification without waiting for the next assessment period.
On the other hand, if the LGU was subjected to an “Adverse” or “Disclaimer” opinion from COA, it should fully comply with all the findings in order to garner a passing opinion on the next Annual Audit Report (AAR)
