By Dr Nick Alviar
Faculty member, School of Politics and Governance
With the national government embroiled in appaling controversies—from the expanding flood control scandal implicating top lawmakers and cabinet members to the Vice President’s public impeachment trial over vast, undeclared wealth—it is easy to succumb to cynicism about our country’s political future. As millions of Filipinos struggle against poverty, those entrusted with power are instead accused of lining their pockets and engineering large-scale corruption.
What often gets overlooked, however, are the quiet successes blooming across our local governments. While sensationalized scandals dominate the headlines, innovative programs at the municipal, city, and provincial levels are actively improving daily life.
Across the country, local leaders are silently and effectively driving real progress in livelihood creation, decent housing, environmental care, disaster resilience, public education, health services, and community safety.
Fortunately, a non-governmental organization, Galing Pook, is leading the way in providing valuable assistance to local government units. “Galing Pook is a leading resource institution that recognizes, capacitates, and promotes innovation, sustainability, citizen empowerment, and excellence in local governance. Galing Pook provides support, tools, and resources to local government units (LGUs) to enable them to build adaptive solutions to challenges in their communities. Through Galing Pook programs, local chief executives and their teams are able to upgrade their knowledge and exchange best practices that can foster development in their own localities.”
Launched in 1993, the Galing Pook Awards is a pioneering program that recognizes innovative practices in local governance across the Philippines. Winners are chosen through a rigorous national screening process based on six key criteria:
Positive results and impact
People’s participation and empowerment
Innovation and adaptation
Resilience
Sustainability
Service delivery efficiency and transferability
Beyond the recognition, winning programs serve as benchmarks for good governance. They offer actionable strategies for common local issues, prove the power of community-LGU collaboration, and encourage other LGUs to replicate successful reforms. Since its inception, the program has awarded 377 initiatives across 244 LGUs.
Among the notable past awardees are:
Network of Alliances for Coastal Wetlands Conservation (Negros Occidental, 2021): Established 10 local conservation areas to protect coastal ecosystems, restore biodiversity, and build climate resilience through community-led management.
Fish from the Mountains: Bayawan Inland Aquaculture (Bayawan City, Negros Oriental, 2023): Launched in 2013 to train farmers as “aquapreneurs.” By 2023, the participatory program established 338 mountain backyard fishponds, benefiting 294 farmers and boosting local food production.
Catching Rain (San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte, 2017): Addressed the landlocked municipality’s water scarcity by adapting an indigenous rainwater impounding technique. By 2017, the system irrigated over 483 hectares of farmland and supported nearly 1,000 farmers during the dry season.
Happy Home: Integrated and Holistic Rebel Reintegration Program (Davao Oriental, 2023): Launched in 2013, this holistic initiative has reintegrated 519 former rebels through counseling, education, livelihood training, and spiritual guidance delivered by a multidisciplinary team.
Quality Education for Sarangani Today / QUEST (Sarangani Province, 2012): Created a community support system of parents and youth volunteers to improve basic education access. The initiative opened or upgraded dozens of schools and constructed 10 class-dorms in remote Indigenous Peoples (IP) communities, making Sarangani a national model for public-private partnerships in education.
The next Galing Pook Awards ceremony will be held on Oct. 21, 2026, at Malacañang Palace, honoring a new cohort of LGUs driving genuine progress in their localities.
If we interpret the political adage “all politics is local” in this context, we can find much hope in government.
The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of the Publication and the University.