Basilan gov’t, 6 LGUs pass 2019 GFH evaluation

COTABATO CITY --- Five now peaceful Basilan towns the Abu Sayyaf pestered for decades until four years ago have passed the national government’s 2019 Good Financial Housekeeping test.

The Basilan provincial government also passed last year’s GFH evaluation by the central office of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, according to a matrix obtained Wednesday from the office of DILG Secretary Eduardo Año.

Beside Basilan’s provincial government, the DILG also listed as passers in the 2019 GFH test the local government units in Lantawan, Maluso, Sumisip, Tuburan and Tipo-Tipo under Mayors Nuriya Ismael, Hanie Bud, Julz Adnan Hataman, Uthaimin Kallahal and Arcam Istarul, respectively.

Lantawan, Maluso, Sumisip, Tuburan and Tipo-Tipo were badly affected by troubles instigated by the dreaded Abu Sayyaf terror group for two decades until its members in the five towns and nearby areas in the island province began returning to the fold of law in recent years through the intercession of provincial and municipal leaders.

The LGU of Basilan’s capital, Lamitan City, a recipient of DILG’s 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 Seal of Good Local Governance award, also passed the 2019 GFH test.

The Basilan provincial government, the Maluso and Sumisip LGUs also each received an SGLG award twice in the past two years.

“Credit for all of these should go to the mayors, their constituent-leaders, the local sectors and the religious communities for cooperating, for helping our LGUs run efficiently,” Basilan Gov. Jim Salliman said Wednesday.

Salliman said he and the employees of the Basilan provincial government were elated with its having passed the 2019 GFH evaluation.

“I am thankful to all the employees of the provincial government, including those involved in governance initiatives in far-flung areas,” Salliman said.

Basilan, covering 11 towns and two cities, Lamitan and Isabela, is a component-province of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.