President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced on Friday that he will be signing a new policy further defining the parameters for the functions, services, and facilities to be devolved to local governments.
President Marcos stated that he will amend Executive Order No. 138, which was signed in 2021.
“This year, we also target to issue the order amending Executive Order No. 138, s. 2021, with clearer parameters on the functions, services, and facilities that are to be devolved,” the President said during the second day of the Local Governance Summit in Pasay City.
President Marcos noted that the government has been working on ways to make devolution both workable and equitable.
“We have been working on this for a good long while and I think we have found a formula wherein we divide the funding according to the way that we determine services belong to… as a responsibility to the national government, other services belong to the local government,” President Marcos said.
“In that way, we are able to satisfy the needs as best as we can for both the national government and most importantly for the local government as the Mandanas ruling really directs itself towards the improvement in the local government situation,” he added.
Under the Mandanas vs. Garcia ruling by the Supreme Court, the just share of LGUs from national taxes is not limited to the national internal revenue taxes collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue but also includes collections by the Bureau of Customs. This significantly increased the tax base from which the share of the LGUs is computed, thus strengthening fiscal decentralization.
The President expressed hope that once the parameters are clearly defined, LGUs will have greater capability to implement and localize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Local Government Summit is held annually to update local government units and stakeholders on the latest developments in governance, share best practices on digital transformation and climate resilience, and strengthen their capabilities in implementing the SDGs.
Discussions focus on various topics concerning LGUs, such as digital transformation in governance, smart infrastructure and urban design, climate resilience, environmental governance, and public health and safety. PND
