Aquino’s our best chance–mayors

President Benigno Aquino III: ‘Best chance for reforms’. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–The Executive committee of the 1,490-strong League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) said President Benigno Aquino III is the “best chance the country has for significant political and vital economic reforms” especially for local government units (LGUs) fighting to attain inclusive growth and end a generational cycle of poverty.

In a resolution the committee adopted recently and released this week, it praised the government’s economic stimulus package, saying it has “decidedly changed the landscape of local infrastructure” and made the local economy its biggest beneficiary.

One innovation that promises more benefits to the LGUs, it said, is the government’s Grassroots Participatory Budgeting process. This allows different local sectors, such as agriculture, to have a voice on what local projects should get priority and be given allocation by LGUs while adhering strictly to efficient and disciplined spending.

Major driver 

“This has shown a huge potential and promises to be a major driver in attaining inclusive growth and reducing poverty at the local level,” the resolution said.

The resolution was adopted last month at the LMP’s national executive committee board meeting in Pasay City.

In the resolution, the committee said the LMP “recognizes the massive achievements reaped under the administration of President Aquino setting the country on a long-term growth trajectory and real economic takeoff.”

The President’s economic stimulus package, the resolution added, has unleashed the potentials of the local economy by building infrastructure like “concrete roads, bridges, public markets and terminals, ports and airports, and other agricultural support projects.”

This is a “strong achievement in good governance” because the government has allocated funds efficiently that “accounted for a drop in poverty incidence for the first time in a 15-year period,” the resolution said.

The LMP also recognized the benefits enjoyed by their local constituents “from the quality expenditures.”