TOP 10 OUTSTANDING LOCAL GOVERNANCE PROGRAMS
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 About Galing Pook Message from the President Message from the Vice President Message from the Department of the Interior and Local Government Message from the Local Government Academy Message from SM Prime Holdings, Inc. Message from Galing Pook Foundation Province of Agusan del Sur Upland Sustainable Agri-forestry Development Convergence Program 12 Municipality of Alabat, Quezon Coco Sugar: Making the Lives of Coconut Farmers Sweeter 14 Cagayan de Oro City Health is Worth Fighting For: The Cagayan de Oro Health Journey (City Health Services Modernization and Accessibility Program) 16 PROVINCE OF Negros Occidental Network of Alliances for Coastal Wetlands Conservation 18 Quezon City GrowQC: Kasama ka sa Pag-unlad sa Pagkain, Kabuhayan, at Kalusugan Food Security Program 20 San Juan City Kaagapay, Lingkod at Gabay sa Pandemya (KALINGAP) 22 Tagum City, Davao del Norte Integrated Management and Sustainable Environmental Approach to Coastal and Underwater Resources (I’M SEACURe) 24 Valenzuela City Valenzuela LIVE Streaming School 26 Valenzuela City Paspas Permit 28 Valenzuela City Tagalag Fishing Village 30 36 37 40 41 2 2021 Program Finalists The Awards Screening Process 2021 National Selection Committee Board of Trustees and Secretariat Opportunities for LGUs under the Mandanas-Garcia Ruling 2021 Galing Pook Awards www.galingpook.org
The Galing Pook Awards is a pioneering program that recognizes innovation and excellence in local governance. It started on October 21, 1993 under the joint initiative of the Local Government Academy-Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Ford Foundation, and other individual advocates of good governance from the academe, civil society and the government. The Asian Institute of Management carried on the awards program until 2001. Earlier in 1998, the Galing Pook Foundation was formed as a juridical institution to sustain the program. Vision We are a leading resource institution that promotes innovation, sustainability, citizen empowerment, and excellence in local governance. Mission We promote excellence in local governance through recognition, sharing of information and support of efforts to replicate best practices at the local level. We encourage partnerships among civil society organizations, private sector, and government agencies at local, national and global levels to improve quality of life. Goals S • earch, select, and recognize outstanding programs of local government units H • elp in the capacity building of local government units F • acilitate the replication of winning programs A • ct as resource institution on innovative local government programs www.galingpook.org 2021 Galing Pook Awards 3
MANILA October 2021 My warmest greetings to the Galing Pook Foundation as it holds its 2021 Galing Pook Awarding Ceremony. I join the organization in honoring the Ten Outstanding Local Governance Programs that exemplify excellence, adaptiveness, innovation and resiliency. May this event inspire more leaders to champion the welfare of their communities even as they remain steadfast to their oath as public servants. As you gather for this occasion, remember to espouse patriotism, integrity and malasakit in your endeavors so that more Filipinos would learn from your noble example and good practices. Together, let us continue to work for an inclusive and sustainable progress for the entire nation. Congratulations and mabuhay kayong lahat! Rodrigo ROA Duterte President Republic of the Philippines 4 2021 Galing Pook Awards www.galingpook.org
Vice President My warmest greetings to the participants and organizers of the 2021 Galing Pook Awards, and congratulations to this year’s awardees! I have always been firm in my belief: There is no place where leadership is tested more intensely—and shines more powerfully—than in the level of local government. This is a truth only made starker by the pandemic: Indeed, many of the most innovative and effective solutions to the crisis—from close coordination with the medical community and experts, to tech-based solutions for contact tracing—sprang from our communities and leaders on the ground. This is why it is so important to recognize the excellence of our local governments through awards like these—not just because of the acclaim we receive, but because of the best practices we share, the inspiration we give, the hope we bring forth in others—hope that it is possible to replace the old and rotten brand of politics with principled and competent leadership. The challenge before our finalists and awardees is clear: To take what is considered the best and make it even better. Keep serving our kababayans the best way you know how. Take a stand to end bad governance that is at the root of so much hunger, poverty, and death during this pandemic. In this endeavor, draw strength and inspiration from one another. With you leading the way, I have faith that we will not just overcome the pandemic; we will build a truly better normal on the foundation of principled and competent leadership—a world that is fairer, kinder, and more humane. Congratulations to this year’s Galing Pook Awardees. Mabuhay kayong lahat! Leni Robredo Vice President Republic of the Philippines www.galingpook.org 2021 Galing Pook Awards 5
Department of the Interior and Local Government Greetings and congratulations to all winners of the 2021 Galing Pook Awards for serving as paragons of good governance and resourcefulness for our local government units in the midst of these trying times. I also commend the Galing Pook Foundation for paying tribute to outstanding local programs and for encouraging our LGUs to deliver excellent public service that exemplifies excellence, adaptiveness, innovation, and resiliency. For 28 years now, the Galing Pook Awards has been instrumental in recognizing best practices in Philippine local governance. It has inspired our LGUs to come up with out-of-the-box ideas and programs that empower and encourage people’s participation in the areas of livelihood promotion, environmental protection, disaster management, peace and order, housing, and fiscal management, among others. And with the COVID-19 pandemic still in the backdrop, it is only fitting that we honor and recognize LGUs that have implemented noteworthy undertakings to help and protect their constituents in this health crisis. As overseer of local government operations, the Department of the Interior and Local Government is one with you in our common goal to uplift the quality of life of the Filipino people by developing safe, prosperous, and inclusive local governments. Again, my felicitations to all the winners and finalists of the Galing Pook Awards. May you continue to put your best foot forward in public service, not for the sake of awards, but to make real and lasting difference in the lives of your fellowmen. Mabuhay! Eduardo M. Año Secretary 6 2021 Galing Pook Awards www.galingpook.org
Local Government Academy The 2022 implementation of the Supreme Court Decision in the Mandanas-Garcia Case ushers in a remarkable shift in the local governance landscape of our country. As the mandated institution responsible for the capacity development of local government officials and department personnel, the Local Government Academy is committed to continuously provide excellent and innovative solutions anchored on the principles of transparency, accountability, participation, and effective local governance. LGA aims to expand its resources through strategic, enhanced, and sustained partnerships. These partnerships intend to promote cooperation, share lessons learned and best practices, and foster innovation among local and international partners. As such, the Galing Pook Foundation is one of LGA’s long-standing partners in searching for and recognizing innovative and excellent local governance programs since the launch of the Galing Pook Awards in 1993. As local governments take a step forward in the fulfillment of the promise of full devolution, we would like to express our heartfelt appreciation and utmost confidence to our partners in the Galing Pook Foundation who continuously provide encouragement and support for innovations in local governance, empowering communities and giving the highest recognition for the efforts of local leadership. A famous saying goes, “Reach for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among stars.” This year’s winners of the Galing Pook Awards exemplify the capacity, drive, and creativity of local governments to go beyond their mandate to serve their constituents. We congratulate the awardees whose practices represent the promise that full devolution can provide for the future of our country. Together with the Galing Pook Foundation, we look forward to providing support for local governments and eventually helping other communities learn from the gains of the exemplary performance of those who have made their journeys into becoming stars of local governance. Thelma T. Vecina, CESO IV Executive Director www.galingpook.org 2021 Galing Pook Awards 7
SM Prime Holdings, Inc. When the opportunity came to SM to forge an agreement for collaboration with the Galing Pook Foundation to support the Galing Pook Awards, I knew that it was a good and worthy idea since it aligns with SM’s core business strategies and practices on disaster risk reduction and resilience. It has always been SM’s belief that businesses cannot grow if the communities we serve are not resilient. Businesses in communities devastated by disasters eventually close down if the communities they are located in are not capable to resist and recover from these calamities. This is where a multistakeholder approach to resilience is a must, a public-private partnership needs to come together. I believe that this is where the Galing Pook Awards makes a significant contribution and impact towards the local communities’ resilience and sustainability by recognizing and supporting best practices of the communities led by the local government units. The private sector’s collaboration with the Galing Pook Foundation, the Department of the Interior and Local Government/Local Government Academy to support the Galing Pook Awards will enhance the program and further our common goals towards resilience. We, in the private sector, are supportive of Galing Pook Foundation’s initiatives like the Galing Pook Awards which, for the past 28 years, have been instrumental in driving local government units into developing adaptive, sustainable and innovative programs that build the resilience of communities. I am confident that the outstanding LGU programs that are recognized by this Awards will undoubtedly make their respective communities more resilient and sustainable as well as generate awareness and inspiration to other local governments and communities to level-up their respective governance and other practices to be more efficient and effective. I congratulate the finalists and especially the ten winners for the 2021 Galing Pook Awards! I am sure that all your programs are exceptional and will serve as standards and inspiration to other local government units and will be worthy of emulation and replication by other LGUs in many other areas in the Philippines. Congratulations as well to the National Selection Committee of the Galing Pook Awards for your work in selecting this year’s winners and my thanks and appreciation goes as well to the Galing Pook Foundation and the DILG/LGA for being our partners in this excellent and worthy endeavor in driving excellence in local governance. Jeffrey C. Lim President 8 2021 Galing Pook Awards www.galingpook.org
Galing Pook Foundation Congratulations to all the winners of the 2021 Galing Pook Awards! This year, we received a record number of applications, demonstrating the desire of our people for effective and excellent leadership from our local governments especially during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic. As we entered the Finals, we were certain that all the 22 program finalists deserve to be recognized, documented, and shared nationwide and even globally for replication. A common theme we have witnessed is the strong evidence of positive results and impact achieved through participatory governance. The programs showed excellent leadership and exemplary service not just among our Governors and Mayors, but also among our committed public servants–LGU program managers and staff. To our civil servants, our LGU frontliners, you all deserve all the honor and credit. We also witnessed the spirit of bayanihan that was present in the various cross-sector partnership initiatives of the program finalists. The task of adapting and innovating on government services in the fields of education, health, governance, environment, tourism, and local economic development required support from private sector, civil society and academe–these partners readily responded to the call and worked alongside our local governments to ensure continuous and efficient service delivery despite all of the challenges. The Galing Pook Awards is a platform for recognizing LGU best practices, but the real work happens after we have named the awardees. The challenge is to scale up these efforts so that more Filipinos would benefit. The strategy is to continue Galing Pook’s partnership with the DILG and Local Government Academy, and with SM Prime, our institutional partner, to ensure that more LGUs will appreciate these best practices and adopt it in their localities. We continue to invite more partners to support the Galing Pook Awardees to sustain and scale up their efforts. The other aspect that I would like to highlight is the importance of disaster risk reduction and resiliency among the LGUs. We must continue to find ways to ensure sustainability amidst challenges of climate change and pandemics. Galing Pook will continue to work with our LGU program awardees to promote the value of preparedness and adaptation so that the continuity of local businesses and job security, as well as social protection is ensured especially for marginalized communities. We have more challenges ahead of us, but we have a renewed sense of hope and inspiration from our LGUs that have shown us that good governance is still a reality in our country. In this magazine, we present to you the 10 Outstanding Local Governance Programs. We are committed to provide all these programs with a platform to share their success stories to a wider audience, and encourage replication to other LGUs nationwide. You can rely on Galing Pook to be an advocate of good governance through the promotion of these adaptive and innovative local governance programs. MEL SENEN S. SARMIENTO Chairperson www.galingpook.org 2021 Galing Pook Awards 9
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