"All the LGUs speaking in one voice would be something that Manila would not want to ignore."
The Supreme Court victory scored by Batangas governor Hermilando Mandanas and former Bataan governor Enrique Garcia against the Department of Finance (DOF) has greatly strengthened the position of this country’s LGUs (local government units) vis-a-vis the national government.
The Constitution gave them a 40-percent share in “all national taxes,” but because of the DOF’s erroneous interpretation of that Constitutional provision, they have been incapable of financing the responsibilities that authors of the Local Government Code of 1991 devolved to the LGUs in their desire to make local autonomy a reality.
With the Mandanas ruling, they now have the means with which to undertake the health, agricultural and other governmental functions that were devolved to them by the Code.
The LGUs should not rest on the laurels gained for them by Messrs. Mandanas – still Batangas’s chief executive – and Garcia. They should forthwith take a step that will further strengthen their position vis-a-vis the national government. This step has to do with the way the national government regards the LGUs. Because of their number, composition and distribution – 84 provinces, over 110 cities and over 1,400 municipalities in 18 regions spread across this country – the national government should be daunted by this country’s LGUs. But it is not.
On the contrary, it treats the provinces, cities and municipalities with indifference and disdain. The LGUs will receive their Mandanas money, but it will be given to them grudgingly.
The national government’s attitude to this country’s LGUs is not difficult to explain. The LGUs pose no threat to the national government because they are not united. They do not present a solid, monolithic front against Manila.
The provinces, cities and municipalities of this country should be joined together in one league or association. There should be no League of Provinces of the Philippines, League of Cities of the Philippines, League of Municipalities of the Philippines and leagues of city mayors and city vice-mayors. There should be one, all-encompassing League of Local Government Units of the Philippines, abbreviated to LLGUP.
There can be no minimizing the need to take account of the dynamics of Philippine politics and of the difficulty of distributing power fairly among the participants in a merger of institutions. Fair distribution of power in an LLGUP can be achieved by having a president and three vice-presidents – one for the provinces, one for the cities and one for the municipalities. The presidency will rotate among three LGU groups. Each of the groups will have a chance to occupy the presidency.
Would an entity encompassing all the LGUs make a difference to the calculus of political power in this country? Would the national government become more inclined to listen to and act on the views and wishes of a League of Local Government Units of the Philippines? The answer to both questions is an emphatic Yes. All the LGUs speaking in one voice would be something that Manila would not want to ignore.
