The DILG Region IX Layag Assessment Team visited Isabela City for a two-day on-site validation of the city’s qualified entries, a part of the assessment process for the 2026 Layag Awards for Excellence in Local Governance from September 29 to 30. The team also paid a courtesy visit to Mayor Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman on the first day.
The assessment team checked records and supporting documents, visited program sites, met with beneficiaries, partners, and stakeholders, and gathered additional information and clarification on the entries.
Three City Government programs were selected for on-site validation:
• HAPIsabela Youth Raising Voices: Addressing Mental Health Program (Youth Empowerment Category)
Validated on September 29 in the morning at the Isabela City Local Youth Development Office in Barangay Lanote.
• HAPIsabela Barangay Investment Promotion Officers Network (Business Friendliness and Competitiveness Category)
Validated on September 29 in the afternoon, just before the team’s courtesy visit to the Mayor.
• HAPIsabela Mobile Library: A Community-Based Approach to Literacy (Education Category)
Scheduled to be validated today, September 30.
The Assessment Team was composed of Beatriz Faye Carreon, Local Government Operations Officer III, and Doefie Marxlin Santander, Statistician I. They were accompanied by LEDIPO Head Jaime Juanito Rivera, LYDO Head Levinia Jarejolne, and Teresa Mohamad of the Nagdilaab Foundation Incorporated.
The Layag Awards for Excellence in Local Governance will be held on October 28 in Ipil. The morning program will recognize former awardees, and the official awarding of the 2026 winners will follow in the afternoon.
The on-site validation is a chance for Isabela City to show the programs behind its entries and the people they serve. Whatever the results, these programs, from youth mental health support, local investment promotion — to community literacy, reflects the city’s continuing work towards good governance.
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