President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
President Marcos has ordered national government agencies to conduct an analysis of the implementation of the full devolution initiative and come up with a list of functions that should be handed down to the local government units (LGUs).
In a statement on Monday, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the President cited during a meeting held last week the need to first define and determine the priority core functions and services that should be transferred to the LGUs.
It was agreed that the funding and schedule of implementation of the functions and services, which are based on LGU capacity and in accordance with minimum standards set by the agencies, shall be determined after coming up with the full knowledge of the LGUs’ functions and services.
“Should the LGUs lack the funds to implement the functions and services, the national government should have a program to assist them,” the PCO said, citing the minutes of the meeting held on Dec. 21.
The President ordered the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) to conduct a sensitivity analysis on what the government can gain from its investments, which include the functions and services to be performed by the LGUs.
Phased-in devolution
Neda was also tasked to recommend ways to better implement a phased-in devolution, including its timeline based on LGU capacity.
Mr. Marcos ordered the Neda to complete the study and submit it to the Office of the President by the end of February 2024.
The President also ordered the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), in collaboration with the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, to come up with a list of basic functions and services that the LGUs should be performing based on their Devolution Transition Plans, and of the national government.
The DILG was given until January 2024 to come up with their list to be presented to the President. No specific date was given.
Mr. Marcos earlier ordered a study of the impact of Executive Order 138, issued by former President Rodrigo Duterte in June 2021, which directed the full devolution of certain functions of the executive branch to the LGUs.
The EO was issued to support the efficient implementation of the Supreme Court ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia case and to strengthen the autonomy and empowerment of LGUs.
Under the ruling, the national government was mandated to expand the share of LGUs in tax collection while LGUs were required to handle the responsibility of delivering social services.
The high court ruled the just share of LGUs from the national taxes is not limited to “national internal revenue taxes” collected by the BIR but also includes collections of the Bureau of Customs and other tax collecting agencies.
The LGUs’ 40-percent share in the national government revenues collected for a specific fiscal year is remitted every third year under Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991.
READ: Duterte orders transfer of some national gov’t functions to LGUs