Valenzuela City bested all other highly urbanized cities in terms of governance, the 2010 Local Governance Performance Management System (LGPMS) report revealed.

The LGPMS is a web-based assessment tool managed by the Department of the Interior? and Local Government (DILG) which measures and assesses the performance of local government units (LGUs) to determine their capabilities and limitations in the delivery of essential public services and in key governance areas; such as, administration, social services, economic development and environmental management.

The latest LGPMS performance report bares the city’s high score of 4.9150 to lead by a high margin the top performing highly urbanized and independent component cities in the country.

It also serves as an analysis tool for LGU’s transparency, participative and financial accountability.  It serves three primary purposes: as support to the development of a local government through the improved use of financial and human resources, as benchmarking tool for local government performance against established standards; and information tool for national policy-makers on the state of development in local governments.

DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo said that a panel composed of representatives from the national and local government units conducted the assessment to gauge LGU performance, scoring them correspondingly, with 1 as the lowest and 5 as the highest. Non-government organizations and civil society groups certified the results to ensure neutrality and fairness.  The scoring revealed that Valenzuela City satisfied all the criteria set forth by the LGPMS.

“I laud Valenzuela City officials for their commitment to elevating and maintaining the highest standards of public service delivery. I hope that the emulative responsible governance its officials achieve will serve as shining example to inspire others to strive better in the performance of their duties,” Robredo said.

City Mayor Sherwin T. Gatchalian was happy about the City’s latest feat.  “We are greatly honored for the recognition.  With this, we are more inspired not to stop in our efforts to accord our constituents with the finest service delivery.  In this way, we play our part in the advancement of economic prosperity and of the social well-being of the Filipino people as a whole,” he said in a statement.

Other highly urbanized cities in the list are: San Juan, with 4.8875; Puerto Princesa, 4.8640; Angeles, 4.7410; Davao, 4.7380; Naga, 4.6940; Zamboanga, 4.6865; Iligan, 4.6710; Cebu, 4.6633 and Taguig, 4.6415.

Among component cities, Ligao was the top performer with a score of 4.9240; followed by Laoag, 4.9193; San Fernando, 4.9177; Vigan, 4.8617; Gingoog, 4.8568; Cabanatuan, 4.8363; Dipolog, 4.8113; La Carlota, 4.7553; Iriga, 4.7522 and Batac, 4.7430.

Among the provinces, Bohol scored 4.9370, followed closely by La Union with 4.9115; Bulacan, 4.8628; Negros Oriental, 4.8331; Pangasinan, 4.8185; Ilocos Norte, 4.8185; Albay, 4.8064; Cavite, 4.8031; Compostela Valley, 4.7812 and Tarlac, 4.7773.