(The NDRRMC leads the conduct of the 22nd Gawad KALASAG National Awarding Ceremony (Photo Courtesy: Civil Defense NCR)

QUEZON CITY, (PIA) – More local government units (LGUs) are set to vie for the Gawad KALASAG (GK) Seal and Special Awards, a search for excellence in disaster risk reduction and management and humanitarian assistance. 

This, as the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) posted a 22.3% increase in GK entries that are endorsed for deliberation on a national level. 

From endorsing a total of 596 or 47.3% entries from the 1,259 or 73.4% total submissions in 2022, the GK Regional Focal Persons endorsed 1,017 or 69.6% submissions to the National Selection Committee. 

The said endorsement is out of the 1,461 total submissions that the OCD regional offices received for the GK Awards 2023. Of these, 17 were submitted by all of the LGUs in the National Capital Region (NCR). 

In addition, 76 entries from other categories were also endorsed to the national level. These include 12 public elementary schools, 15 public high schools, 6 higher education institutions (HEIs), 5 civil society organizations (CSOs), 3 volunteer organizations, 4 private organizations, as well as 10 advance and 1 basic government emergency and management systems. 

A special recognition for 5 individuals and 4 groups was likewise endorsed alongside entries for 1 individual and group heroic act. 

Meanwhile, the inclusion of hospital categories in the GK Awards will be implemented this 2023. Respectively, 7 hospitals from the national government and 2 from local government units were able to join the list of endorsements. 

The GK was first implemented more than 20 years ago to establish a performance and compliance assessment mechanism for LGUs, particularly in their localization of the programs and initiatives of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) in line with the institutionalization of the local DRRM councils and offices. 

In 2022, 13 LGUs from NCR were able to secure the GK Seal of Excellence under the Local DRRM Councils and Offices category. 

The awardees include the local governments of Makati City, Malabon City, Muntinlupa City, Parañaque City, and Quezon City for being “Beyond Compliant,” while Caloocan, Las Piñas, Mandaluyong, Navotas, Pasay, Pasig, San Juan, and Valenzuela City governments were hailed as “Fully Compliant.” 

On the other hand, the 23rd GK National Awarding Ceremony is yet to be announced. (PIA-NCR)