A TOTAL of P91 million was awarded to 46 provinces, cities and municipalities in the 13 regions of the country under the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s Gawad Pamana ng Lahi Program.

Secretary Jesse Robredo said that the cash incentive was a reward to LGUs that show exemplary governance and transparency.

The funds came from the Congress-appropriated P500 million Performance Challenge Fund (PCF).

Robredo and Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) president Oriental Mindoro Gov. Alfonso Umali, Jr. presented the awards to the beneficiary LGUs during the culminating activity of the Biyaheng Pinoy, a yearlong celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Local Government Code, held at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

The awards consisted of a trophy and a check for P3 million for each provincial  winner, a trophy plus a check for P2 million for each of the city awardees,  and a trophy  and a check for  P1 million for each municipal winner.

Each check serves as funding support for the implementation of  programs and projects under the Millennium Development Goal.

Robredo said the Gawad Pamana ng Lahi is conferred on local government units for their exemplary performance across major development initiatives in administrative governance, social governance, economic governance and environmental governance.

“Through this awards program, we aim to recognize the invaluable contribution of LGUs that have continuously adhered to the good governance principles of transparency, accountability and inclusivity in local administration and development,” he said.

Of the 46 regional winners, 15 were provinces, 15 cities and 16 municipalities.

The provincial awardees include the provinces of  La Union, Quirino, Bulacan, Cavite, Marinduque, Albay, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Leyte, Zamboanga del Norte, Misamis Oriental, Compostela Valley, Cotabato, Agusan del Norte and Benguet, while the cities were:   San Fernando, Santiago,   San Fernando,  Antipolo,  Puerto Princesa, Ligao,  Iloilo,  Cebu,  Ormoc,  Zamboanga,  Cagayan de Oro, Tagum,  Kidapawan, Surigao, and  Tabuk.

The municipal awardees are Tagudin (Ilocos Sur); Ilagan (Isabela); Llanera (Nueva Ecija); Carmona (Cavite); Odiongan (Romblon); Tiwi (Albay); New Lucena (Iloilo);  Amlan (Negros Oriental); Naval (Biliran); Labason (Zamboanga del Norte); Opol (Misamis Oriental); Laak (Compostela Valley); Surallah (South Cotabato); Cagwait (Surigao del Sur); Sta. Marcela (Apayao); and Sultan Mastura (Maguindanao).