The Seal of Good Local Governance Act of 2019

Case Overview and Summary

Summary of Republic Act No. 11292 (The Seal of Good Local Governance Act of 2019)

Declaration of Policy (Section 2)
- Recognizes good performance of LGUs in transparency, accountability, disaster preparedness, social protection, health programs, education, business competitiveness, peace and order, environmental management, and tourism/culture.
- Encourages LGUs to take on greater challenges and pursue general welfare.

The Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) (Section 3)
- An award, incentive, and recognition program for LGUs.
- Criteria for SGLG:
• Transparency and accountability in public funds (Section 7a)
• Disaster preparedness (Section 7b)
• Social protection and sensitivity to vulnerable sectors (Section 7c)
• Health compliance and responsiveness (Section 7d)
• Programs for sustainable education (Section 7e)
• Business friendliness and competitiveness (Section 7f)
• Safety, peace and order (Section 7g)
• Environmental management (Section 7h)
• Tourism, heritage development, culture and arts (Section 7i)
• Youth development (Section 7j)

Council of Good Local Governance (Section 4)
- Composed of various government agencies and a basic sector representative.
- Chaired by the DILG Secretary.
- Develops performance indicators and reviews/revises them.
- Evaluates the impact of the Act and recommends improvements.

DILG as Implementing Agency (Section 6)
- Responsible for assessing and evaluating LGUs' compliance with criteria.
- Recommends to the Council which LGUs qualify for SGLG.

Requisites to Qualify for SGLG (Section 8)
- LGUs must comply with and pass all assessment criteria.

SGLG Incentive Fund (Section 11)
- A special account under the GAA to pay incentives to qualifying LGUs.
- The Council determines the monetary incentives based on the number of awardees.

Utilization and Limitations on Incentives (Section 12)
- Incentives governed by policies on IRA, AIP, and LDIP.
- Lists exclusions for incentive use (e.g., loans, administrative expenses).

Technical Assistance for Capacity-Building (Section 13)
- DILG to release governance assessment report identifying LGU gaps.
- Concerned agencies to provide technical assistance to non-qualifying LGUs.

Guarantee of Local Government Autonomy (Section 15)
- Respects LGU autonomy in establishing policies and programs.

SGLG Operating Fund (Section 16)
- Initially funded from DILG's Performance Challenge Fund.
- Thereafter, 2% of SGLG Fund to be included in DILG's annual budget.

Repealing Clause (Section 18)
- Repeals inconsistent laws, orders, rules and regulations.

Effectivity (Section 19)
- Takes effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette or newspaper.