DBM ENLIGHTENS SP ON MANDANAS-GARCIA SC RULING
By: Rhea Matilde A. Ballesteros, GPC-SP | Photos By: Mr. Mark Andrew G. Sanchez, SP | Date: August 24, 2021
Dir. Ria V. Bansigan, Regional Director of the Department of Budget and Management Region I (DBM ROI) enlightens the 22nd Sangguniang Panlalawigan during the Question Hour on its 113th Regular Session on August 24, 2021 on the Supreme Court (SC) ruling on Madanas-Garcia case. Dir. Bansigan apprised them of the action plan and policies on the implementation of the said ruling which could be used in aid of legislation.
In preparation for implementing the Supreme Court (SC) ruling on the Madanas-Garcia case starting 2022, the Department of Budget and Management Region I (DBM ROI), through its Regional Director, Dir. Ria V. Bansigan enlightened the Sangguniang Panlalawigan during the Question Hour on its 113th Regular Session on August 24, 2021, relative to the action plan and policies on implementing the said ruling, which could be used in aid of legislation.
During the session, Dir. Bansigan reminded that under the Constitution, Local Government Units (LGUs) should have a just share in the national taxes, automatically releasing them. Therefore, forty percent (40%) of the share in the national internal revenue taxes (NIRT) based on the collection of the third fiscal year preceding the current fiscal year will be given to LGUs. She said that the Supreme Court ruled that the just share of LGUs from the national taxes is not limited to “national internal revenue taxes” collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue but includes collections (customs duties) by the Bureau of Customs and other collecting agencies. Therefore, for the province of La Union, the indicative increase in the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) or National Tax Allotment (NTA) for FY 2022 is P522M based on the population, land area, and the number of existing LGUs.
However, with the implementation of the Mandanas ruling, the national government will have a great decrease in resources. To address the fiscal gap is to fully devolve the national functions or the services and functions enumerated under Section 17 of the Local Government Code to the LGUs.
To implement the full devolution, Dr. Bansigan informed that Executive Order No. 138 was issued on June 1, 2021, covering the devolution of certain executive branch functions to the LGUs. She explained its salient features including the delineation of national government and LGU roles; creation of a Committee on Devolution headed by the DBM to oversee its implementation; establishment of a growth equity fund to assist the poorer LGUs and the preparation of Devolution Transition Plans (DTPs) of LGUs.
The LGU DTPs will serve as guide on the monitoring and performance assessment of the LGUs by the national agencies concerned, DBM and DILG. For the province of La Union, it will be formulated by the Executive branch and will be subject to approval of the SP and when finalized it will be submitted to the DILG for them to formulate the necessary capacity intervention.
Meanwhile, the SP was appreciative of the information imparted by Dir. Bansigan aided them in their decision-making, particularly in determining the future of the province of La Union in terms of assuming the devolved functions and confirming the will-be submitted DTP from the Office of the Governor.
The other parts of the presentations on the Mandanas-Garcia ruling are scheduled for the next Regular Sessions of the SP with the DILG and Provincial Planning Development Coordinator as resource speakers.
