Contributing to the BetterGov.ph LGU Directory

Thank you for being part of the BetterGov.ph community. This guide explains how to register your LGU, update an existing entry, or contribute a template.

Adding Your LGU

You do not need to have a finished portal to register. If you are planning to build one, register early — it signals intent to your community and lets others find and support you.

Steps

1. Fork this repository.

2. Edit README.md and add a row to the Directory table:

   | Your LGU Name | [yourdomain.org](https://yourdomain.org) or - | [GitHub](https://github.com/you/repo) or - | [Facebook](https://facebook.com/yourpage) or - | 🔵 Planned | [@yourhandle](https://github.com/yourhandle) |
   

   The Socials column accepts one or more platform links. Multiple links are comma-separated, e.g. [Facebook](https://facebook.com/yourpage), [X](https://x.com/yourhandle).

   Use - for any field that does not apply yet.

3. Choose the correct status badge:

   Badge	When to use
   🔵 Planned	You intend to build a portal but haven’t started yet
   🟡 Work in Progress	Actively building, not yet launched
   🟢 Active	Publicly launched and actively maintained
   🔴 Unmaintained	Previously active but no longer maintained

   Keep a 🔵 Planned entry moving. Planned entries that see no directory activity for over 30 days are tagged ⚠️ Stale and 🤝 Open for Adoption — see Stale Entries.

4. Open a Pull Request with the title format:

   Add [LGU Name] to directory
   

5. A maintainer will review and merge your PR.

Updating an Existing Entry

If your LGU’s status, domain, repository, or maintainer has changed:

1. Fork this repository.
2. Edit the relevant row in README.md.

3. Open a PR with the title format:

   Update [LGU Name] — [brief reason, e.g. "status change to Active"]
   

Stale Entries

A 🔵 Planned entry whose row has not changed in over 30 days is tagged ⚠️ Stale in the Status column and 🤝 Open for Adoption under its maintainer:

| Your LGU Name | - | - | - | 🔵 Planned<br>⚠️ Stale | [@yourhandle](https://github.com/yourhandle)<br>🤝 Open for Adoption |

The two tags always appear together, and only on 🔵 Planned entries — the sync script rejects any other combination.

If it is your entry: it is not a penalty and nothing is removed. Any update clears it — move to 🟡 Work in Progress, add your repo link, or open a PR removing both tags to confirm you are still on it.

If you want to adopt one: open a PR that updates the Maintainer/s column to your handle and removes the ⚠️ Stale and 🤝 Open for Adoption tags. That is the whole change — the status stays 🔵 Planned until you actually start building, at which point you move it to 🟡 Work in Progress as a normal update. No heads-up needed beforehand; if the adoption needs discussion, that happens in the PR. Taking over outright and collaborating with the original maintainer are both fine — list both handles if you are working together, or just yours if you are taking it on alone.

Adopting resets the clock: the entry counts as updated from the day that PR merges, so it will not be re-tagged for another 30 days.

The tags are applied by the repository maintainers during periodic reviews, never by automation. Elapsed time is what prompts a look, not the whole judgement — an entry with visible progress elsewhere will not be tagged just because its row has not changed.

Contributing a Template

If you have built a reusable starter template:

1. Fork this repository.
2. Add a row to the templates table in both README.md and TEMPLATES.md.

3. Open a PR with the title format:

   Add template — [Template Name]
   

What Happens After You Open a PR

Some labels are applied automatically, so do not worry about setting them yourself.

A maintainer may then add:

• needs-changes — something needs fixing on your side. A PR that sits here for 14 days is marked stale and closed 7 days later. Closing is not a rejection; reopen it whenever you are ready.
• needs-coordination — someone is already registered for that LGU. Talk to them rather than adding a second row; two contributors on one portal is a good outcome.
• blocked — waiting on something outside this repository, such as a domain going live.

If you are looking for something to pick up, the open-for-adoption label marks entries that have no active maintainer.

Changelog

Please do not update CHANGELOG.md in your Pull Request. The repository maintainers will update the changelog periodically to summarize recent additions and improvements.

Guidelines

• Keep entries accurate and up to date.
• Use — rather than leaving cells blank.
• Do not remove another LGU’s entry — open an issue instead if something looks wrong.
• Be respectful. This is a civic community project.