HIGHER TAX SHARE BIG HELP FOR LGUS – LACSON

Local leaders in Negros Occidental said the plan to increase the share of local government units (LGUs) from the National Tax Allotment (NTA) is a big help, especially to small towns and cities.

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said “it is a recognition of the role of LGU in nation building.”

“I hope it is in addition to the Mandanas-Garcia ruling,” Lacson said.

The Mandanas-Garcia rule gives the LGUs a just share on all national taxes collected and not based solely on national internal revenue taxes.

This significantly increased the tax base on which the share of the LGUs is computed from.

Victorias City Mayor Javier Miguel Benitez, president of the Negros Association of Chief Executives, was also elated by the news.

“As you know there is a devolution and transition plan. There should also be a devolution of funds as there are devolve functions,” Benitez pointed out.

The mayor said that he has talked to some mayors and they are supporting it because it was promised by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his first months in office.

House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, meanwhile, said that upon the directive of President Marcos, the House of Representatives is working to provide local government units with a bigger share of the national budget to support their development efforts.

Romualdez made the announcement in his message during the 2024 League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) General Assembly on February 27 in Pasay City.

Romualdez said a budget hike will allow LGUs to foster local development projects.