Tagbilaran City is a house in order.

This was revealed by Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) provincial director Ma. Loisella Lucino in a letter to Mayor Dan Lim dated Dec. 22.  “We are glad to announce that the City of Tagbilaran passed the Seal of Good Housekeeping criteria for the Third Round,” Lucino said. Lucino told Lim that this makes the city eligible for the performance challenge fund (PCF). The seal of good housekeeping is in relation to the transparency and accountability of local government units (LGUs) in response to the challenge issued by Pres. Benigno Simeon Aquino III. “As of the moment, we are still waiting instructions from Central Office as to accessing the PCF which is an incentive fund to qualified LGUs which comes in the form of counterpart funding for Local Development Projects under the LGU Annual Investment Program (AIP) and funded out of the 20% Local Development Fund which are consistent with the national development, attainment of Millennium Development Goals, local economic development and adaptation to climate change and preparedness for disasters,” she added.

Lucino said she will inform Lim as soon as she receives updates on the PCF. Asked to comment on this development, the mayor said this is “no big deal”. “We are simply doing our part to manage our resources properly as part of our commitment to the people,” he added. Lim said that while he is pleased that the city is eligible for the PCF, he does not want to make a big issue out of the seal. The mayor noted that the seal is a good send-off for the city for 2012 and just in time to end 2011 on a positive note. “It only goes to show that we are living up to our promise to the people that we will be good stewards of government resources,” he added. Lim said this is another setback to his critics who are doing everything to put him and his administration in a bad light.

The mayor noted the seal is a direct rebuttal of all the allegations of impropriety thrown at him by his enemies. “We have been saying all along that we are managing our resources well but our critics accuse us of wrongdoing so this is a virtual slap on their faces,” he added. Sources who declined to be quoted said the city is stands to receive as much as P18 million. Aside from the remaining P3M for the seal of good housekeeping, the city will also get P15M from the Local Government Support Fund from the Department of Budget and Management.