Co-Sponsorship Speech
Senate Bill No. 1843 / Committee Report No. 397
The Seal of Good Local Governance Act of 2018
July 25, 2018 at 3 o'clock in the afternoon
Session Hall, Senate of the Philippines, Pasay City

Delivered by HON. WIN GATCHALIAN, Senator of the Republic:

Mr. President, esteemed colleagues, good afternoon to you all.

As a long-time city mayor, I can attest to the immense role that the Seal of Good Local Governance and its predecessor programs have played in raising the efficiency and transparency of local governance in LGUs across the entire country. The institutionalization and expansion of the program through the passage of Senate Bill 1843 will help further amplify the program's positive contributions to improving the state of local governance in the coming years.

As an advocate for education reform, I am also proud that we were able to add "Programs for Sustainable Education" as a criterion for awarding the Seal of Good Local Governance. Based on my experiences as a local public servant, I am convinced that meaningful reforms to improve educational quality and access can only be achieved with full cooperation and dedication on the part of LGUs. In line with this, LGUs will now be incentivized to implement smart and innovative programs to address the specific education criteria mentioned in the bill -- including increases in student participation rates, decreasing drop-out and out-of-school youth rates, increases in cohort survival rates, increases in achievement scores, and better access to alternative and special education programs. Thus, LGUs will become genuine partners for reform and change in our local and national educational systems.

For these reasons, Mr. President, I am proud to join my good friend and Seatmate, Senator Sonny Angara, in sponsoring this pivotal local government legislation. Thank you Mr. President.