11 Eastern Visayas LGUs yet to comply with policy on disclosure

TACLOBAN CITY—Only 11 of the over 140 local government units (LGUs) in Eastern Visayas have yet to comply with the national government’s policy on full disclosure of financial transactions, according to a Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) official.

Pedro Noval Jr., DILG Eastern Visayas director, said the 11 LGUs were only missing one or two documents mandated to be posted under the full disclosure policy being implemented by the department.

These LGUs were Pintuyan in Southern Leyte; Lapinig in Northern Samar; and the towns of Almagro, Gandara, Hinabangan, Jiabong, Matuginao, Motiong, Tagapul-an, Tarangnan and Zumarraga, all in Samar province.

Eastern Visayas has about 149 LGUs constituting provinces, cities and municipalities. This means that 138 LGUs across the region have fully complied with the policy.

The full disclosure policy program requires LGUs to post several documents, including their budgets and finances, and bids and public offerings in government websites, newspapers of general circulation and in other conspicuous and appropriate places.

Full disclosure

Based on the provisions of Republic Act No. 10147, or the General Appropriations Act of 2011, adherence to the full disclosure policy is now compulsory.

Local governments without a website should also post the required information on the website of the DILG regional office concerned on www.dilg.gov.ph, the website of the DILG central office.

Noval cited the document on items to bid as the most common instrument that the 11 LGUs have not yet posted so they could not be considered as having complied with the full disclosure policy.

He said that based on their explanations, the LGUs said they lacked the time to prepare the said document.

“But I expect within this month that all the 11 LGUs will be able to fully comply with the full disclosure policy,” said Noval who has been monitoring the LGUs’ compliance.

He added that the failure of the LGUs to observe the full disclosure policy could mean the filing of administrative charges.

“(Officials) should be held accountable and responsible with their actions to the people they serve,” Noval said.

Earlier this year, DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo ordered the DILG field offices to send “show cause” orders to the executives of the LGUs concerned to explain or face sanctions for noncompliance with the provisions of the 2011 General Appropriations Act.

The full disclosure of financial transactions aims to minimize, if not totally, eradicate corruption and misuse of public funds.