Recto explains 175 billion reasons why October elections matter

Rep. Ralph Recto —Photo from House of Representatives of the Philippines facebook page

Barangay and youth councils will get a total of P174.27 billion in internal revenue allotments (IRA) next year, so Filipinos should give a lot of thought in choosing local leaders who can deliver their tax money’s worth.

“There are 175 billion reasons why the electorate should choose their barangay leaders well,” House Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph Recto said on Wednesday.

In a statement, Recto cited data from the 2024 National Expenditure Program, which showed that 41,953 barangays will get P174.27 billion next year as their share in the national tax allotment.

Local governments get a 40 percent share of all government revenues and this share is further divided among local government units, with barangays getting 20 percent.

Recto added that youth councils, or Sangguniang Kabataan, are also entitled to 10 percent of funds for barangays.

“That will be P17 billion nationwide a year that will be apportioned among them,” he said.

Recto said this should be enough reason for voters to “give greater attention” to the Oct. 30 local council elections because these councils are “front-line government agencies performing very important functions.”

He quipped: “Like a song goes, ‘When something’s wrong in the neighborhood, who you gonna call? The barangay chairman!’”Recto pointed out that the barangays’ IRA share for 2024 is bigger than the proposed P105.6 billion funding for 114 state universities and colleges.

“It is six times bigger than the P28 billion earmarked in the proposed Department of Health (DOH) budget for medicine and vaccines. It’s also higher than the budget of all DOH-run hospitals,” he said.

Recto said P72.302 billion was earmarked for the operations of DOH-run hospitals in Metro Manila and the rest of the regions, including funding for four specialty hospitals in Quezon City.

He said barangays’ IRA for next year “almost reached the level” of the P181.35 billion proposed for the Department of Agriculture and its attached agencies.

He added: “If you combine what the government will spend for new classrooms, new computers, new chairs, new books, new teachers, this will not be even half of what barangays will be getting in IRA.”

Recto noted that P33.36 billion was allotted for basic education facilities, such as classrooms and laboratories, chairs and tables, electrical wiring, water and sanitation.

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