The Galing Pook Foundation looks for programs that exceeds the previous awardees chosen by the body.
Mel Sarmiento, chairperson of the foundation, stressed on Wednesday, October 4, that the next batch of Galing Pook awardees should not be inferior or duplicates of previous winners in order to be considered as 'innovative'.
"Yung benchmark niya ay pataas ng pataas kasi yung dating winners kung sinunod lang or a bit lower than what was submitted in the past, parang hindi na innovative," Sarmiento explained during DILG sa DZRH Breaktime.
Sarmiento said that the numerous entries submitted to the Galing Pook Foundation undergo multiple screenings before joining the list of finalists.
He added that Galing Pook Foundation sends a team to validate, and interview the community affected by the program.
"Marami na rin kaming inventory ng mga programa na pwedeng tignan, pwedeng sundan. Sa ngayon patindi ng patindi ang laban," Sarmiento explained.
Aside from being innovative, Sarmiento said that the entries must also be adaptive.
"Ang sinusulong ngayon ng Galing Pook ay adaptive and innovative leadership. Kailangan innovative yung program at adaptive yung process para magkaroon ng program na napakaganda para sa kanilang bayan," he added.
Currently, Galing Pook Foundation has reduced the entries to 17 finalists.
The finalists include:
- Bago City, Negros Occidental: "Reviving the Majestic Diversity of Bago Watershed" (Ridge to Reef Environmental Management/ Integrated Ecosystem Management Approach)
- Barangay Taloot, Argao, Cebu: Barangay Taloot Community-Based Integrated Approach
- Bataan Province: 1Bataan Seal of Healthy Barangay
- Bayawan City, Negros Oriental: Fish From The Mountains: Bayawan Inland Aquaculture
- Cavite Province: LINKod Beyond Bars: An ICT-based Social Inclusion Program of Cavite Provincial Jail
- Davao Oriental Province: Happy Home
- Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte: Seal of Health Governance: Local Health Leadership Approach as Response from Pandemic to Super Typhoon "Odette"
- General Santos City: Shari’a Atas Bitiara
- Iloilo City: Iloilo City Sports Academy (ICSA): A Grassroots Sports Program for the Ilonggo Youth
- Iloilo Province: Mobilizing Communities through People-Centered Zero Open Defecation Movement Towards Sustainable Sanitation in the Province of Iloilo
- Ligao City, Albay: Integrated Coastal Resource Management Program
- Makati City: Virtual Queuing Management System
- Mexico, Pampanga: Sustaining an LGU-Funded Community Hospital with a Hemodialysis Center [The Experience of Mexico, Pampanga after the 1991 Devolution]
- Ormoc City, Leyte: Saving Kan: A Love Story in Ormoc Bay (Marine Mammal and Reptile Rehabilitation Center)
- Pasig City: Pasig City Prehospital Care and Emergency Medical Services Medical Control Program
- Quezon City: iRISE UP (Intelligent, Resilient, and Integrated Systems for the Urban Population)
- Quezon City: Quezon City Birth Registration Online (QC BRO): Online Birth Registration Portal of the Quezon City Civil Registry Department
"May final presentation ng panel interview. Pagalingan ng presentation. Siyempre, may Q&A dito. Kailanga ma-convince yung mga hurado," Sarmiento said.
The foundation will name the 10 new Galing Pook awardees in an awarding ceremony on October 12.
