Catarman, Northern Samar—Partido Reporma chairman and standard-bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III aim to pull this province out of the “poorest provinces” list by ensuring good government once they are elected following the 2022 national elections.
Lacson said their flagship Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Empowerment (BRAVE) program can easily solve Northern Samar’s constant lack of funding for its own development projects in a press conference Sunday at the provincial capitol here.
“We learned from Governor Edwin Ongchuan that the province only received P1.7 billion in IRA [Internal Revenue Allotment] – which is very, very small considering it has 24 municipalities and 569 barangays,” he said.
The IRA is the local government unit’s share of revenues from the national government. Provinces, independent cities, component cities, municipalities, and barangays each get a separate allotment.
This allotment is largely based on the type of government they are and a formula based upon their land area and population. Section 284 of the Local Government Code of the Philippines (Republic Act 7160) sets up the formula for the distribution of the allotment.
“We explained that our number one platform, our main program of government, is BRAVE – the downloading of resources. We will bring down the national budget to the local government units to improve the living conditions in Northern Samar,” Lacson said.
The Lacson-Sotto tandem sees BRAVE as the most effective solution to uplift the lives of Filipinos living in the country’s poorest areas, including Northern Samar.
Based on data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority last year, 27.4 percent of families in the province are living in poverty, drawn from a study starting in 2018.
This number had already improved from the 51.5 percent poverty incidence in Northern Samar last 2015, according to the PSA. But owing to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, it is not surprising if this number goes up again.
Under BRAVE, Lacson said local governments could bring progress to their areas because they would be given additional funding based on their needs and priorities.
The program would help greatly in creating more opportunities for the residents of Northern Samar, which could then stimulate their local economy and allow them to finally leave the poor house, the former national police chief added.
Agriculture, fishing and tourism are the primary sources of livelihood of Northern Samar, which has a population of 639,186 in the Eastern Visayas region, according to the PSA’s 2020 census.
Based on the 2020 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index of the National Competitiveness Council, Northern Samar ranks 71st out of 81 provinces in the Philippines in terms of total annual income, which hit only P213.8 million last year.