A Filipino man carries a dirty plastic sheet from his house after strong waves from Typhoon Ruby battered a coastal village in Legazpi, Albay on Monday. AP
MANILA, Philippines – Local officials should be credited for the relatively low number of casualties inflicted by Typhoon Ruby, according to Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, because they acted effectively without fanfare.
Pimentel said the local officials’ performance boosted his proposal that local government units get a bigger slice of the budget, so they could build more resilient infrastructure.
According to Pimentel, barangay (village), municipal, city, and provincial officials “form the most effective first line of defense against disasters, because they can get things done without much fanfare.”
Their anti-disaster preparations were effective when Ruby swept through several Visayas and Luzon provinces, he added.
“It proves that governance is ultimately local,” said Pimentel, who chairs the Senate oversight committee on local governments. “This is a product of hard work of local officials who mobilized their resources to get their people out of harm’s way,” he added.
Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
Pimentel said this underscored the need to support his bill to amend the Local Government Code so that LGUs would get more funding from government coffers
His bill seeks to give LGUs a P600 billion increase in their share of national taxes.
“It is time that local officials are fully empowered. Congress should provide them with added resources to face the challenges of climate change,” he said.
Under his measure, the tax base for the LGUs’ share in the budget would be expanded to include collections of the Bureau of Customs, not just those of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. The bill would also increase the LGU share from 40 percent to 50 percent of national taxes.
The LGUs’ share would be known as shares in the national taxes or SNT, in replacement of the internal revenue allotment.
Pimentel said the additional allocations would allow LGUs to implement better projects and programs, including those for disaster resilience, health, social services, and the environment.
“Dependence on national government will be greatly reduced,” he said.
The Philippine Red Cross put the death toll from Typhoon Ruby at 27, although government officials had a lower body count.
There was massive evacuation in several Visayas and Luzon provinces before Ruby, initially classified as a supertyphoon, slammed into the country. The evacuation has been credited for saving lives.