
Plaridel is a first class municipality in the province of Bulacan under the leadership of MayorJocelle Aimee R. Vistan- Casaje. As of 2015, it has a total population of 107, 805. It is politically subdivided to 19 barangays. Major industries in the municipality are: farming, poultry or livestock raising, garments and food processing.
Plaridel has been awarded and recognized several times for their exemplary performance and best practices in local governance. In 2012, the city was awarded with the DILG Seal of Good Housekeeping. It is also a regional winner of the Child-friendly Municipality and CROWN Award for Nutrition. The Municipality also bagged the National Literacy Awards in 2014 which was their third consecutive year thus they became qualified as Hall of Famer in the 2014 UNESCO Literacy Awards.
Plaridel has been awarded and recognized several times for their exemplary performance and best practices in local governance. In 2012, the city was awarded with the DILG Seal of Good Housekeeping. It is also a regional winner of the Child-friendly Municipality and CROWN Award for Nutrition. The Municipality also bagged the National Literacy Awards in 2014 which was their third consecutive year thus they became qualified as Hall of Famer in the 2014 UNESCO Literacy Awards.
TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Transparency and accountability has been institutionalized in Plaridel. To ensure that this is always practiced, they follow a process in policy development and program planning which starts with informing the public about the plans and programs, citizen consultation, community consensuses, and lastly partnerships wherein decision-making by the stakeholders happen. For budgeting, they use the bottom-up approach as well as mechanisms for public expenditure monitoring. Moreover, they have instituted various complaint mechanisms.
Bringing in technology, specifically electronic strategies, is one of the efforts of the Municipality to promote transparency and accountability in governance. Many areas of operations, particularly those that are prone to corruption are computerized. Public posting of government transactions are placed in the Municipal Hall, markets and other conspicuous areas. They also use social media to spread information and knowledge to their constituents, specifically Facebook. Currently, they are working on the official website of the Municipality.
Transparency and accountability has been institutionalized in Plaridel. To ensure that this is always practiced, they follow a process in policy development and program planning which starts with informing the public about the plans and programs, citizen consultation, community consensuses, and lastly partnerships wherein decision-making by the stakeholders happen. For budgeting, they use the bottom-up approach as well as mechanisms for public expenditure monitoring. Moreover, they have instituted various complaint mechanisms.
Bringing in technology, specifically electronic strategies, is one of the efforts of the Municipality to promote transparency and accountability in governance. Many areas of operations, particularly those that are prone to corruption are computerized. Public posting of government transactions are placed in the Municipal Hall, markets and other conspicuous areas. They also use social media to spread information and knowledge to their constituents, specifically Facebook. Currently, they are working on the official website of the Municipality.

HEALTH AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Plaridel has 16 Barangay Health Stations and 3 Rural Health Units (RHU). They have a sufficient number of health personnel stationed in each facility (midwives, nurses and doctors) who are also all properly compensated. Barangay Health Workers and Barangay Nutrition Scholars are given a total of Php 2,000.00 per month. Aside from the monetary incentive, they are also given free PhilHealth.
Plaridel also provides trainings and seminars for the development and enhancement of their health personnel. Some are LGU sponsored while some are made possible through partnering with private NGOs or institutions such as the Rotary Kristal of Plaridel and Soroptimist International Plaridel.
Considering the budget that they have for health, Plaridel acknowledges the fact that they cannot provide all the needs of their constituents and provide ideal quality health care without the help of the private sector. The Municipality manages its funds efficiently by allocating it to different projects and through HFEP and other partnerships.
In terms of medicine supply, aside from the ones provided by DOH, Plaridel also allocates funds to purchase additional needed medicine to ensure that there is sufficient supply not only in the RHUs , but in all health stations as well. According to an interview conducted by CHG representatives with an instructor from UST currently conducting immersion, he said that he is surprised and impressed by how Plaridel manages its resources that it was able to have enough supply of essential medicine given for free. Moreover, he is impressed by the comprehensiveness of the health programs and services of the Municipality.
Plaridel has 16 Barangay Health Stations and 3 Rural Health Units (RHU). They have a sufficient number of health personnel stationed in each facility (midwives, nurses and doctors) who are also all properly compensated. Barangay Health Workers and Barangay Nutrition Scholars are given a total of Php 2,000.00 per month. Aside from the monetary incentive, they are also given free PhilHealth.
Plaridel also provides trainings and seminars for the development and enhancement of their health personnel. Some are LGU sponsored while some are made possible through partnering with private NGOs or institutions such as the Rotary Kristal of Plaridel and Soroptimist International Plaridel.
Considering the budget that they have for health, Plaridel acknowledges the fact that they cannot provide all the needs of their constituents and provide ideal quality health care without the help of the private sector. The Municipality manages its funds efficiently by allocating it to different projects and through HFEP and other partnerships.
In terms of medicine supply, aside from the ones provided by DOH, Plaridel also allocates funds to purchase additional needed medicine to ensure that there is sufficient supply not only in the RHUs , but in all health stations as well. According to an interview conducted by CHG representatives with an instructor from UST currently conducting immersion, he said that he is surprised and impressed by how Plaridel manages its resources that it was able to have enough supply of essential medicine given for free. Moreover, he is impressed by the comprehensiveness of the health programs and services of the Municipality.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN HEALTH
Mayor Jocelle emphasized the importance of educating the community for them to appreciate and take part in the initiatives of the LGU. Their strategy is to have programs that are integrated. One of these is the Ugnay Serbisyo sa Bayan (USB) which is a community outreach program where medical and dental services are brought down to the barangays. Local citizens participate enthusiastically because they are aware of its benefits and not only are they able to avail health services, but other social services as well.
Civil society organizations (CSO) are also very active in Plaridel. Aside from the previously mentioned groups, the Association of Senior Citizens is also a consistent partner in all of the Municipality’s health programs. Aside from this, the Community Health Team in each barangay meet regularly to discuss issues, activities and concerns.
Mayor Jocelle emphasized the importance of educating the community for them to appreciate and take part in the initiatives of the LGU. Their strategy is to have programs that are integrated. One of these is the Ugnay Serbisyo sa Bayan (USB) which is a community outreach program where medical and dental services are brought down to the barangays. Local citizens participate enthusiastically because they are aware of its benefits and not only are they able to avail health services, but other social services as well.
Civil society organizations (CSO) are also very active in Plaridel. Aside from the previously mentioned groups, the Association of Senior Citizens is also a consistent partner in all of the Municipality’s health programs. Aside from this, the Community Health Team in each barangay meet regularly to discuss issues, activities and concerns.

LOCAL LEADERSHIP
With all the awards and recognitions the city and its officials have received, it can be said that Plaridel sets the standard of a model LGU in the region. Plaridel’s local leadership style is centered on people empowerment wherein local officials, authorities, communities, and individual citizens must work together to ensure the best opportunities for development for everyone.
As a successor of her father and mother who were both former local chief executives of Plaridel, Mayor Jocelle made sure to continue their best practices. She used her background as a business woman and her education, having a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Engineering to bring in a fresh perspective and a keen eye for data analysis. She explained: “systems yung alam ko. I think I put that into it yung data ina-analyze ko talaga lahat, mahina kami dito, pano naming papalakasin," through analyzing data they would know what needs to be done, allocate effectively and monitor their progress. Not only did she continue the best practices of her parents but at the same time she wanted to improve the systems and brought in the use of technology so as to cope up with the fast changing world.
Mayor Jocelle was able to get an average rating of 9.4/ 10 from the respondent constituents. This shows that local citizens are highly satisfied with her performance as their Local Chief Executive.
With all the awards and recognitions the city and its officials have received, it can be said that Plaridel sets the standard of a model LGU in the region. Plaridel’s local leadership style is centered on people empowerment wherein local officials, authorities, communities, and individual citizens must work together to ensure the best opportunities for development for everyone.
As a successor of her father and mother who were both former local chief executives of Plaridel, Mayor Jocelle made sure to continue their best practices. She used her background as a business woman and her education, having a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Engineering to bring in a fresh perspective and a keen eye for data analysis. She explained: “systems yung alam ko. I think I put that into it yung data ina-analyze ko talaga lahat, mahina kami dito, pano naming papalakasin," through analyzing data they would know what needs to be done, allocate effectively and monitor their progress. Not only did she continue the best practices of her parents but at the same time she wanted to improve the systems and brought in the use of technology so as to cope up with the fast changing world.
Mayor Jocelle was able to get an average rating of 9.4/ 10 from the respondent constituents. This shows that local citizens are highly satisfied with her performance as their Local Chief Executive.
It is with local health governance practices like that of the Municipality of Plaridel that the Champions for Health Governance Awards holds strong hopes for a future with a Philippines that has appropriate and necessary health services for every Filipino.
For more information about the CHG Awards. visit the ABOUT THE AWARDS page; for interested applicants of the 2019 awards, please visit the application page on this website.