.
Download this Article| Discussion | Contact Us |Back to Policy Page |Home

 

 

 

 

 

Agenda for Good Governance: Beyond 100 Days

The fall of the Marcos regime in 1986 provided an opportunity for Filipinos not only to break from the over-centralized form of government nurtured in the fourteen years of repressive rule, but also to lay the foundation for democratic governance at the local level. Thus, the 1987 Constitution contains the very provisions designed to strengthen the autonomy of local government units. It also mandated the Congress to enact a Local Government Code that will give flesh to this mandate. Indeed, Congress enacted a law that would ensure greater participation by the people themselves, in effect, redefining governance at the local level as a partnership between the elected officials and the people who put the to power.

Unfortunately, despite the enactment of the Local Government Code of 1991, local government units are faced with their continued threats to local autonomy. Even the strongest features of the Code - those on fiscal autonomy and greater popular participation - are compromised. This was most clearly seen under the Estrada administration where local fiscal autonomy was violated by policies and the patron client relation of the local governments to the national government was reestablished.

Good local governance should be founded on the principles of greater fiscal autonomy to prevent the manipulation of local government executives for the purpose of serving the personal agendas of nationally elected officials. It demands that local priorities must be identified and addressed principally by the communities themselves. Inevitably it requires a sustained collaboration and partnership between both the locally elected officials and their empowered constituents, working towards the resolution of the problems facing their localities.

The coming to fruition of the EDSA event, which in a very clear fashion asserted the people's desire for good governance, demands not only a change of administration but for political reforms. These reforms should allow for the participation of civil society in governance; the participation guaranteed by the strengthening of local autonomy. This new administration claims to recognize the power of civil society as a force of reform and promises to adhere to good governance. The arena where civil society and good governance meet is in the strengthening of local autonomy. Toward this end, the new administration should commit itself to the following legal and policy changes:

On Local Fiscal Autonomy

Order the immediate and complete release of the internal revenue allotment (IRA) of local government units for the year 2000

Ensure the immediate enactment of a law creating the Local Government Service Equalization Fund (LGSEF), which is sourced out from the General Appropriations Act (GAA) and should not be deducted from the IRA of local government units

Ensure the immediate enactment of a law reformulating the distribution of the IRA to the various local government units that take into account the income generating capacities and performance of local government units

Ensure the immediate enactment of a law mandating a share for local government units (LGUs) from the national wealth of local territories, and non -income tax collection of national government, and giving the concerned local government units the discretion on the use of funds

Ensure the immediate enactment of a law mandating a transparent mechanism for the implementation of the Code's provisions on the share of local government units from the extraction of natural resources from the territories of local government units, and giving local governments the discretion on the use of these funds accruing under these provisions. This shall cover the immediate repeal of related issuances the Department of Energy ER 1-94
Ensure the immediate recall or repeal of all executive issuances that constrain use of the IRA, encourage dependence on the national government, or effectively limit the autonomy of local governments, including but not limited to the following:

a. Executive Order 189 (Office of the President, December 21, 1999): Directing all LGUs to submit to the DBM their Annual Investment Plan, and allocating the 20% of the Development Fund to nine (9) priority areas

b. Local Budget Circular No. 70 (March 14, 2000) providing for the implementing rules and guidelines (IRR) of EO 189

c. Executive Order No. 190(Office of the President, December 1999) directing the DBM to remit directly the contributions and remittances of the LGUs to the concerned NGA, GFI, and GOCC

d. Executive Order No. 250 amending Section 1 of EO 189: directing the allocation of the 5% of the 20% development fund for anti-illegal drug activities

e. DILG (1999): Circular requiring prior concurrence and approval of local loans by the department where the IRA is used as a guarantee

f. DILG (1995, 1996, 1997, MC 99-66) Restricted utilization of the 20% development fund

g. COA (1996): Limited Use of the Special Education Fund


On Democratic Local Governance

Ensure the immediate implementation of provisions for democratization, and people's participation mechanisms already mandated in the Local Government Code, particularly,

a. Amendments of the Code providing for penalties for violation 2(c), 26, 27 of the Local Government Code

b. Amendment of the Code providing for the date and manner of election of local sectoral representatives to the Sanggunian

c. Enactment of a law providing for penalties for failure to implement the Code's provisions on the local special bodies

d. Amendment of the Code providing for the creation of a Local Housing Board


On Strengthening the Implementation of the Local Government Code

The new administration should also develop and implement a clear program to assist local governments in tax mapping and participatory development planning
Reactivation of the Oversight Committee and the establishment of a Technical Working Group with a permanent civil society representative to assist in overseeing the implementation of the Code

Review and assess the Master Plan for Devolution as formulated and initially implemented under the Ramos administration.

 
Barangay Governance Network| Local Governance Policy Page |Research and Advocacy