SC ruling on Mandanas-Garcia petitions, a call to align local to national objectives

CITY

OF SAN FERNANDO -- The Supreme Court’s ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia petitions rings the bell for local government units (LGUs) to revisit their programs and align them to the national government's objectives for the attainment of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP).

Vice Mayors’League of the PhilippinesPampanga Chapter President and Floridablanca Vice Mayor Michael Galang pressed the need to conduct orientations and capacity-building activities to LGU officials to anchor their objectives to national or regional development programs in the coming years.

“Higher funds means more ways for public service. Still, the bottom line is our decision-makers, our local chief executives, our vice mayors, and councilors. How equipped are they, or how familiar are they in the PDP? How do we orient them and how do we maximize the utilization of additional resources that they will receive?” he said during the Virtual Caravan for the Updated 2017-2022 PDP.

He asserted that LGU’s lack of familiarity with the implementation, particularly on the fund utilization is one issue that might hamper the implementation of the high court ruling.

In addition, as a representative from the LGUs, Galang underscored it is important that projects inserted by legislators should be anchored in the local plans to avoid disapproval.

“Sometimes, a project will be funded, but there is no thorough study in the local, and when it is implemented, we will see that there are problems. That is why the linkage of the national and local government is a big way for them to be mutual in the implementation of the programs,” he stated.

The official also suggested that local policy-makers should adhere to the implementation of the Republic Act 10587 which recognizes the importance of environmental planning in nation-building and development.

Moreover, Galang recommended a more stringent means in the monitoring of the outcomes of local plans with the creation of additional plantilla positions for technical manpower such as social workers.

“If the decision-makers in the LGUs are not that knowledgeable when it comes to planning, this only becomes compliance to them. It is important to have a mechanism if the plans adopted by the LGUs contribute to the bigger picture which is the PDP,” he said.

Also, another recommendation pertaining to the achievement of the PDP is the promotion of participatory governance so that the concerned sectors could give their feedback for the adaption of sound and efficient policies.

“As a government official, I say that the participation of our people is not that strong maybe because they do not understand the responsibility of each office in the LGU. A simple Juan Dela Cruz, I don’t know if he knows the three branches of the government, and how these operate in the LGU. The people themselves are struggling to understand what is the kind of the government they have,” he emphasized.

Lastly, Galang suggested the inclusion of a Citizenship Education curriculum in junior and senior high schools so that the youth will understand their roles in the community.

Supreme Court’s ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia petitions is expected to create a balloon of 27.66 percent or more than Php234.4 billion in the internal revenue allotment of the LGUs in 2022 from estate tax, documentary stamp tax, travel tax, sin tax, and other taxes collected by the national government, aside from the Bureau of Internal Revenue collections.

It will create a full devolution of power to the LGUs by passing them the management and budget on the services for health, agriculture, community-based forestry, social welfare, tourism, housing, investment support, solid waste management, and other frontline services.