KANANGA, LEYTE Municipal Mayor Matt Torres has ranked first among the top performing municipal mayors in Leyte Province for the third quarter based on an independent and non-commissioned survey conducted by the Bayan Serbisyo at Kaunlaran (BSK) Advocates for Participatory Governance and Accountability.
Accordingly, Mayor Torres got a high job performance rating of 92.10%. Further, based on the same survey, Mayor Noli Ysidoro of Leyte ranked second, garnering a 91.85% rating, and in third place were Mayor Matin Petilla of Palo and Mayor Dodo Cordeño of Isabel, who attained the third rank with a 91.60 percentage score. The ratings and rankings, accordingly, are greatly dependent on mayors’ job performances and public ratings.
It is said that the BSK Advocates for Participatory Governance and Accountability province-wide survey was performed per town in every province with a total of 1,500 respondents per district and was asked if the constituents “approved or disapproved” how their respective mayors were handling his/her job. Further, a number of important metrics are used to evaluate the performance of mayors. These include economic development, gauged through factors such as job creation, business expansion, and efficacy of livelihood programs; public safety and order, which were measured via crime rates; the effectiveness of emergency responses; and the quality of police-community relations.
In addition, critical metrics also include health and social services provision, which were assessed by healthcare quality, social welfare initiatives, and the management of public health crises; infrastructure development which focused on road construction and maintenance, public utilities, and environmental sustainability; and education improvement that was evaluated based on school enrollment figures, education quality, and the state of educational facilities.
Moreover, other influential significant factors include qualities of good governance, such as transparency, the prevention of corruption, citizen participation, and adaptability to modern challenges such as climate change and digitalization. As the local chief executive, mayors have a wide range of responsibilities, including overseeing and carrying out all LGU policies, programs, projects, and services; upholding all laws and regulations pertaining to the municipality’s administration; and then using these to carry out plans. By Gwen Maurillo (EV Mail October 21-27, 2024 issue)
