By Lorie A. Cascaro
Local chief executives (LCE) in the five provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) are entitled to avail of P100 million Performance Challenge Fund (PCF) once awarded with Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH).
Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse M. Robredo said the PCFs will be extended to ARMM LCEs who can comply with the government’s full disclosure policy on the use of public funds, exemplary governance and delivery of basic services.
The ARMM LCEs must be able to pass certain DILG criteria, which include accountable governance; transparent governance; participatory governance; commitment to public interest; and structure of governance and development to be able to qualify and avail of the PCF funds.
Robredo said that after passing the DILG-set criteria, the initially-qualified ARMM LCEs will seek nomination or endorsement from their Provincial Governor.
It will be assessed by the DILG Secretary or his delegated staff for approval, and once approved, the concerned LCE will be awarded with an SGH, which is a pre-requisite to be able to avail of the PCF funds.
He said the PCF is not intended as competition among LGUs but to reward them for helping the government attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of reducing poverty and improving the opportunities for poor households to alleviate their condition.
The ARMM SGH-PCF funds will be sourced from the ARMM’s P8.5 billion transition and investment support funds aimed to jumpstart and sustain local economic development initiatives for poverty alleviation in the region.
The Congress earlier allotted some P500 million for the DILG’s PCF funds for the various SGH-recipient LGUs, giving out P1 to P7 million each to qualified recipients.
