Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas expressed his support for the declaration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to amend Executive Order (EO) No. 138 on the devolution of certain functions to local government units (LGUs).
President Marcos made the announcement on Friday during the first-ever Local Government Summit 2024 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.
In an interview on Sunday, Mandanas thanked the national government’s sincere intention to fully implement the law by strengthening fiscal decentralization.
“EO 138 really has to be clarified, it should really be amended if not repealed. The just share of LGUs has long been enshrined under our 1987 Constitution, mandated by the Local Government Code (LGC) and was even confirmed by the Supreme Court (SC) in 2019,” he told the Manila Standard.
Mandanas cited Article 10, Section 6 of the 1987 Constitution, which provides that “local government units shall have a just share, as determined by law, in the national taxes which shall be automatically released to them.”
He added the LGC clearly provides that the share of LGUs shall be “automatically and directly released” and there is no need for further appropriation by the Congress.
In the landmark ‘Mandanas ruling,’ the SC said the determination of the just share of the LGUs should not be based solely on national internal revenue taxes but on all national taxes.
Mandanas, who also became the chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, said the positive development will be necessary to promote good governance in the country by making the delivery of basic services more efficient, according to him.
He noted the LGUs are ‘closer to the people’ such that they can more effectively address concerns in healthcare, education, livelihood, agriculture, tourism, and disaster and relief efforts, among others.
He said the development of primary government services will later contribute to the economic development of the different provinces and regions in the country.
Meanwhile, Dr. Froilan Calilung, director of the Local Government Development Institute said “the devolution is a crucial step in galvanizing the supposedly positive steps towards full decentralization.”
“This is really something we have been waiting for, especially Governor Mandanas, as this is supposed to be enacted a long time ago. I hope by this time ample measures are in place to mitigate any potential backlash,” said Calilung.
He added strengthening the LGUs’ financial capacity will translate to better public services and will also be beneficial to the administration’s ideals.
The lifting of the ban of EO 138 shows the commitment of the Marcos administration to empower LGUs and could be seen as an effort to strengthen the decentralization in the country, according to him.
However, he cautioned it is a ‘make or break situation’ because “although initial responses are good, it will still depend on how well the LGUs are receptive to the changes to be made.”
