MANILA, Philippines — Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse M. Robredo Tuesday said that the local governance awards given to several municipalities in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) are meant to “emphasize good governance in implementing reforms in the region.”

“By highlighting good governance practices in ARMM, the awards program also aims to encourage other LGUs (local government units) in the region to adopt similar innovative governance principles in their areas,” said Robredo.

The Galing Pook Awards is the annual search for the best governance programs across the nation, he said.

Robredo, however, explained that the recently concluded Galing Pook Awards for the ARMM is a new category exclusively made for local government units in the region.

It is one of the various measures that have been set in place to carry out reforms in the autonomous region, pegged to be the poorest in the country, he added.

“To set the record straight, the awards were contested not by LGUs nationwide but only by those in the ARMM,” he said.

This year, seven LGUs representing eight noteworthy programs in the region were feted for their noteworthy governance programs during the first ever Galing Pook–ARMM.

These are Kapatagan in Lanao del Sur; Sulu Province, Southwestern Ligawasan Alliance of Municipalities, Wao in Lanao del Sur, Sultan Mastura in Maguindanao, Bongao in Tawi-Tawi, and Upi in Maguindanao.

Robredo said audit of the regional government is one of the more important reforms being undertaken.

He considers the measure as the “best cleansing process” in light of reports that approximately 90 percent of the ARMM budget goes to Personnel Services.

He said the audit, and other reform measures, such as penalizing truant local government officials, should not be sidetracked by the ARMM elections, which could be another showcase of political maneuvering, violence, and electoral-rigging.

“Given the government’s limited resources and the performance of the regional government following previous elections, it is wiser to spend the gargantuan election budget to initiate and complete reforms that would ensure clean, honest, and credible elections in the region in the future,” he said.

“The postponement of the ARMM elections and the appointment of interim officials are not meant to suppress democratic rights, which the national government has always upheld. Rather, it is the rightful path, or the ‘daang matuwid,’ to ensuring that the future electoral process would truly reflect the voice of the people,” Robredo pointed out.