MANILA, Philippines – Twenty-six municipalities in Bohol – the province devastated by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake last year – received an incentive of P1 million (about $23,000)* each from the national government on Friday, June 6.

The amount was taken from the performance challenge fund (PCF) that’s meant for local government units that are given the Seal of Good Housekeeping by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The Seal of Good Housekeeping – which has since been renamed the “Seal of Good Local Governance” – is an innovation introduced by late former DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo in 2011.

The Seal of Good Local Governance has 6 elements: 1) good financial keeping, 2) disaster preparedness, 3) social protection, 4) business friendliness and competitiveness, 5) environment management, and 6) peace and order.

In a statement, the DILG said mayors from the following towns received the checks from were able to avail of the P1 million check sourced from DILG Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad:

• Alburquerque
• Antequera
• Baclayon
• Balilihan
• Bilar
• Buenavista
• Calape
• Catigbian
• Clarin
• Corella
• Danao
• Garcia-Hernandez
• Jetafe
• Guindulman
• Inabanga
• Jagna
• Lila
• Loboc
• Loon
• Maribojoc
• Panglao
• Sagbayan
• San Miguel
• Sevilla
• Trinidad
• Valencia

The checks were turned over right before the Provincial Congress on Disaster Preparedness of the Liga ng mga Barangay-Bohol chapter. Roxas said the checks can be deposited in the towns’ local treasury or used to fund projects.

Bohol’s P26 million is 41% of the P63 million allocation for Central Visayas under the PCF for 2014.

“Sa pamamagitan ng incentive fund mula sa PCF, inaasahan ko na magiging mas mabilis ang muling pagtindig ng Bohol at mas marami pa sa ating mga kababayan ang mabibigyan ng mahalagang serbisyo ng ating mga lokal na pamahalaan,” said Roxas. (With the help of the PCF, I expect Bohol to recover even faster, and that more of our constituents will receive crucial services from their local governments.)

In October 2013, Bohol was struck by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that destroyed centuries-old churches, communities, and claimed the lives of more than 200 people. Around P1.4 million worth of infrastructure was reported damaged in the province of Bohol. – Rappler.com

*US$1 = P43.6