Pasay City goes exceptional, wins DILG’s Seal of Good Local Governance five times — four times consecutively 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 — plus the most difficult and significant one in 2022, for the fifth.

The 2022 Seal of Good Local Governance Award was the most significant because it was a recognition of the exemplary performance of the city amid the Covid-19 health crisis, “of being able to deliver quality service to the constituents, and “its response to the call of the times,” DILG said.

Mayor Imelda “Emi” Calixto-Rubiano received the most coveted 2022 award for the people of Pasay at the Manila Hotel last 13 December.

Pasay City leads in supporting President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s MSMEs campaign “to uplift the economic wellbeing of the Filipino people.”

When the President launched the MSMEs campaign at a summit in 2022, Pasay City immediately went full scale utilizing its 63 cooperatives, giving technical assistance to their  6,300  members to generate funds for micro, small and medium enterprises.

For the development and promotion of the cooperatives, the Emi Leadership Award and the Pasay Galing Koop Award were given to cooperatives that had shown good practices and that had made significant contributions, assistance and a positive impact on the Pasay community through their programs and projects using the Community Development Fund. In 2022, the cooperative award included cash prizes to further motivate and encourage the cooperatives.

Moreover, the city implemented the Pasay Kadiwa Mobile Palengke project in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, providing P50,000 each to 10 cooperatives that benefited from the project.

The city also provided Sewing Livelihood Assistance to 20 qualified cooperative members who were affected by the pandemic. In addition, the city conducted various fairs to help the cooperatives promote their products and services to a wide consumer base, such as the Enjoy Mo Ito Market during the Pasay City Celebration; Kadiwa ng Pasko events in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry, and Office of the President; Cooperative Mini-Trade Fair with DTI’s Diskwento Caravan; and Cooperative Trade Fair during Cooperative Month Celebration.

The Pasay Ko, e-Market Mo Ito program also continued to operate and innovate. As of 2022, there were 7,922 members of the Pasay Ko, e-Market Mo Ito online group and more than hundreds of online posts were being approved daily. Selected e-Market sellers were given the opportunity to sell their food products at Mercado-SM by the Bay (MoA) during the Christmas season.

In 2018, then Pasay Mayor Antonino G. Calixto received the third Seal of Good Local Governance.

The years 2019 and 2022 SGLG awards belong to Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano, the incumbent.

“Congratulations to our 2022 SGLG awardees. Your success is truly remarkable because for the year, we used stricter criteria in evaluating local governments. Keep up the good work,” DILG Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. said.

The SILG Award upgrades performance standards that focus on the outcomes of the LGUs’ efforts in addressing challenges in local administration and public service delivery.

To receive the SGLG Award, LGUs must pass the assessment criteria across various governance areas — financial administration; disaster preparedness; social protection and sensitivity; health compliance and responsiveness; sustainable education; business friendliness and competitiveness; safety, peace and order; environmental management; tourism, heritage development, culture and the arts; and youth development.