He also acknowledged how the province mobilized the community and used a people-centered approach in its program, which highlights the importance of people’s participation in governance.
Defensor, on the other hand, said that more than the award, the Galing Pook served as a standard for leveling up the programs and projects in the province.
"More than an award, the Galing Pook is a perspective, a way of looking at, a way of treating, a way of assessing in terms of community engagement, innovation, impact, programs, and projects of local government units. It gives us the standards that we use in leveling up our work and our other programs and projects as well. These are standards in leveling up and elevating the programs, as our mantra in the province is that good governance is a standard and not an objective," the governor stressed.
Meanwhile, as part of the Galing Pook anniversary, the foundation also unveiled the "Galing Pook @30 exhibit" at SM City Iloilo, highlighting the province's journey in achieving ZOD status.
It is noted that the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) first introduced ZOD to Iloilo after the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, and the province started its campaign in barangay and municipal levels in 2015, ensuring that there will be no defection in open surroundings to prevent the contamination of water sources, which could result in diseases such as typhoid, hepatitis, diarrhea, and amoebiasis, among others.
In November 2022, Iloilo was conferred by the Department of Health with ZOD Grade 1 status after all 1,721 barangays in the province had been certified as ZOD villages. (AAL/JNH/PIA Iloilo)
