DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/ 15 October) — Three of the 10 winners in the prestigious Galing Pook Awards 2017 are local government units from Mindanao: Cagayan de Oro City, General Santos City and the province of Davao del Norte.
Cagayan de Oro City won for its “Rising Up from the Mud” program, General Santos City for its “Lingap sa Kabataang Ayaw sa Droga” or LIKAY Droga, and Davao del Norte for its “Community-Based Road Maintenance Contracting.
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“Rising Up from the Mud” took off from the major crisis that confronted Cagayan de Oro City in December 2011 when typhoon “Sendong” left a devastated city and how the successor-mayor in 2013, Oscar Moreno, surmounted challenges, –including a City Council whose majority opposed his projects — by embarking on a governance strategy that included counterparting, judicious utilization of special funds, and people empowerment.
The Likay Droga Program of General Santos City is in partnership with the Department of Education-Alternative Learning System (DepEd-ALS) and the private sector “to enhance and strengthen efforts in protecting the youngsters and other concerned sectors from the ill effects of prohibited drugs”
The program was launched last year by Mayor Ronnel Rivera to address the problem of vulnerability of the youth to the menace of drug addiction.
Davao del Norte’s winning entry, the Community-Based Road Maintenance Contracting (CBRMC) program under the Provincial Engineer’s Office.
Galing Pook validators visited the community-based service provider in San Vicente, Sto.
Tomas, Kipalili, San Isidro, and Del Monte, New Corella, gathering stories and experiences of the community on CBRMC.
An article posted on the provincial website on August 1 quoted Dr. Ronald Mendoza, a member of the Galing Pook National Screening Committee as saying the project qualified to be a semi-finalist then because “meron talagang stakeholding ng community doon sa pag-aalaga ng ating mga lansangan” (because there is actual stakeholding of the community in taking care of our roads) and instead of citizens relying only on government to maintain the road, the community as stakeholders partnered with the local government.
The seven other winners of Galing Pook Awards 2017 are: Angono, Rizal for its “Participatory and Systemic Governance for Socio-economic Development” program; Pasig City’s “Bayanihan sa Daan Sustainable Transport Program;”
San Felipe, Zambales’ “Monthly Search for Galing Barangay and Galing Purok;” San Luis, Aurora’s “Luntiang Pamayanan” ng San Luis; San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte’s “Catching Rain,” Valenzuela City’s “Disiplina Village” and Palompon, Leyte’s “Integrated Community-Based Eco-Tourism and Coastal Resource Management.”
Two other Mindanao LGUs made it to the list of finalists: Lamitan City, Basilan’s “Reaching Out Serving Everyone Caravan;” and Tagum City, Davao del Norte’s “Balik Sigla and Tagumpay Gulayan Programs for a Healthy Community.”
The Galing Pook Awards was launched on October 21, 1993 as a pioneering program that searches and recognizes innovative practices by local government units.
The awardees are chosen from a national search of local governance programs, evaluated through a multilevel rigorous screening process based on positive results and impact, promotion of people’s participation and empowerment, innovation, transferability and sustainability, and efficiency of program service delivery. (MindaNews)