Balaoan bags gold in first ADAC performance audit
Manila– 2018 proved to be a bountiful year for the municipality of Balaoan as it continued to harvest national awards and recognitions.
In ceremonies held at the Tent City, Manila Hotel on December 28, 2018, the municipality was awarded a Plaque of Recognition and a Cash Incentive of Php250,000 after it was declared a Gold Awardee in the First Anti-Drug Abuse Council (ADAC) Performance Audit for having garnered a perfect score of 100 in the functionality of its local ADAC for 2017.
Balaoan achieved the perfect score following the criteria set by the ADAC-Project Management Office (ADAC-PMO) in its 2017 Performance Audit-National Calibration conducted by the ADAC-National Audit Team on local ADACs from December 10-12, 2018. Out of the 1,715 provinces, cities and municipalities rated, 241 LGUs garnered 85-100 points corresponding to Ideal (High Functionality) with only 21 LGUs nationwide achieving the perfect score as Gold Awardees while the remaining 220 LGUs, Silver Awardees.
“This recognition is dedicated to the townspeople of Balaoan, to the municipal and barangay officials, partner national government agencies and civil society organizations, and to my late father, former Mayor and Vice Mayor Atty. Al-Fred O. Concepcion, who had been passionate in his drive in ridding illegal drugs in the municipality,” Municipal Mayor Atty. Aleli U. Concepcion and Chairperson of the Municipal ADAC said.
Mayor Aleli’s assumption to office in 2016 marked the municipality’s sincere response to President Duterte’s call to eradicate illegal drugs with its heightened campaign and innovations aimed at discouraging the use of drugs in the community. The lady mayor institutionalized the implementation of “Oplan Pagbabago”, a comprehensive and community-based approach for drug surrenderers that incorporates Spiritual Counselling/Moral Recovery Enhancement, Health and Drug Education, Psycho-social Wellness, Skills/Livelihood Trainings and Community Service.
To ensure a drug-free workplace, series of mandatory drug tests were conducted and administered periodically by the municipality on all elective and appointive municipal officials and employees including all barangay officials from 2016 to the present. To encourage and motivate participation of the barangays on anti-drug programs, the functionality of the Barangay ADACs has been yearly evaluated and given recognition under the municipality’s Annual Search for Model Barangay. All these efforts led to the formal declaration of Balaoan, La Union as a Drug-Cleared Municipality by the Regional Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing Program on April 11, 2018.
The National ADAC Performance Award recognizes LGUs with exemplary efforts in complementing the national government’s measures to eradicate the country’s illegal drugs problem. An adjectival rating of Ideal (High Functionality) was given to all these LGUs based on the results of the 2017 ADAC Performance Audit organized under DILG Memorandum Circular 2018-159.
In November 6, 2018, the municipality earlier received the much coveted Seal of Good Governance from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) also at the Tent City, Manila Hotel which attests to the excellence of a local government unit in the seven areas of governance set by DILG this year namely, financial administration; disaster preparedness; social protection; peace and order; business-friendliness and competitiveness; environmental management; and tourism, culture and arts. This is the second SGLG award received by the municipality after having won its first in 2015 under the leadership of the late Mayor and Vice Mayor Atty. Al-Fred O. Concepcion.
“Let it not be told by our detractors that we had been remiss during the years of our first term in office. We will continue to strive for excellence in the years to come because our people deserve no less but the best which our brand of public service can give them ,” Balaoan lady Mayor Concepcion said.
