J. ALBERT GAMBOA l June 14, 2024 l The Manila Times
SINCE 2017, dozens of local government units (LGUs) have been the recipients of The Manila Times (TMT) Model Cities and Municipalities Awards in recognition of their steadfast commitment to sustainability and good governance. These LGUs have achieved social development, improvement of livelihood, economic growth, and expansion through innovation.
Bacolod City won the Best Model City award in 2017 and 2019, while Davao City was the 2018 winner. There were no awardees from 2020 to 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and when it resumed in 2023, the Best Model City awardee was Calamba City, Laguna.
Municipalities were included in the recognition ceremony starting in 2018, with the town of Agoo, La Union, emerging as the Best Model Municipality awardee, followed by the municipality of Liloan, Cebu, as the 2019 winner. After a four-year hiatus, the town of Bulakan, Bulacan, won the Best Model Municipality award in 2023.
The search is on for the country’s model communities that will vie in the 2024 edition of this TMT awards program, and the winners will be announced in September this year. Among the categories in the annual competition are: business-friendly, food security enabler, sustainability champion, eco-friendly, emergency disaster management excellence, tourism hub, social service-oriented, education hub and safe haven.
In contrast, two municipalities have lately been hogging the headlines because of raids conducted by law enforcement agencies in their premises. The second-class municipality of Bamban, Tarlac, is in the middle of a controversy involving the raid last March of an alleged Philippine offshore gaming operation (POGO) hub located beside the Bamban Municipal Hall.
After several weeks of public hearings in the Senate, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the preventive suspension of Bamban Mayor Alice Guo for six months in connection with graft charges filed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government. The Bureau of Internal Revenue has also started its own investigation against Guo and the POGOs in the Bamban hub for possible tax evasion.
Another LGU that has been brought into the limelight for the wrong reasons is the first-class municipality of Porac, Pampanga. Last June 4, agents of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (Paocc) and operatives of the Philippine National Police (PNP) raided the compound of a POGO firm called Lucky South 99 Outsourcing Inc. on the strength of a search warrant issued by the Malolos Regional Trial Court in Bulacan.
However, Paocc spokesperson Winston Casio said the search warrant was later withdrawn by the court due to technicalities since it did not specify the names of individuals and items that would be searched. But the combined PNP-Paocc forces had already implemented the warrant before its withdrawal by the court, and they placed under arrest several foreign nationals, which led to allegations of illegal search as the warrant had been withdrawn.
Subsequently, the Paocc applied for another search warrant from the San Fernando Regional Trial Court and implemented it last June 7. At that time, the Lucky South 99 complex was already under the Paocc’s possession for three days. Assuming the new warrant is valid, will it cure the effects of an alleged illegal search?
According to PNP spokesperson Jean Fajardo, the incorporators of Lucky South 99 are connected with the firm that operates inside the POGO complex in Bamban, Tarlac. She disclosed that another Lucky South 99 operation was shut down in Angeles City earlier in September 2022. These revelations have thus made the POGO issue more complicated.
Meanwhile, Porac Mayor Jaime Capil has denied suggestions that he is a protector of Lucky South 99. He said his office did not issue a business permit to the POGO firm because it is on the negative list of the Bureau of Fire Protection.
Considering the seriousness of the accusations against the LGU officials, it is far-fetched that these two municipalities would be able to join the search for the Best Model Municipality of the land. The only way to rectify their situation is for the citizens of these towns to vote wisely during the May 2025 elections and urge their leaders to emulate the best practices of outstanding communities that have taken the path of sustainable development.
===
The author is the chief finance officer of Asian Center for Legal Excellence and vice chairman of the FINEX Ethics Committee. The views and opinions expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FINEX and The Manila Times. (Photo from Pinterest)