Review of Local Government Code urged anew

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay has joined calls to revisit the Local Government Code, which is now on its 23rd year of implementation.

In a speech during the 2014 International Conference on Public Administration in Davao City, on  Saturday, October 11, Binay urged Congress to create a Joint Executive-Legislative Local Government Reform Commission to review Republic Act 7160.

The law should be evaluated every 5 years, but past administrations have failed to do so since it was enacted in 1991. (READ: Local Government Code almost untouched after 3 presidents)

“Before we commemorate its quarter century of existence, perhaps now is an opportune time to frame it within our current and future challenges and address provisions that may prove inadequate against the demands our nation will soon face,” the Vice President said.

Binay said that the proposed commission can tackle local governance issues in a reform agenda, which in turn can be formulated by a technical committee.

He then cited some provisions in the law that were already “obsolete and overtaken by time,” such as:

• Section 17(h), which states that regional offices of national departments should have been abolished a year after the Code’s approval
• Section 143 (Tax on Business), which sets various rates of business taxes
• Section 399, which provides for a “Lupon Tagapamayapa” (Pacification Committee)
• Section 450, which states the prerequisites for cityhood; this provision was put into question following the reinstatement of cityhood of the “League of 16” cities in 2011

“It is crucial that we strike the proper balance between empowering our local governments and allowing the national government to intervene when circumstances require it to, so that this issue and ultimately the welfare of our citizens is squarely and thoroughly addressed,” Binay said.

In May, Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, head of the Senate committee on local government, filed a Senate resolution seeking  to conduct a comprehensive mandatory review of the code.

In February, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $250-million loan to the government to study changes to the Code that will enable local government units (LGUs) to increase their local sources of income, and therefore have more funds for basic services and job creation.

In September, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) organized nationwide multi-sectoral consultations, through an inter-agency Coordinating Committee on Decentralization, “to facilitate a participative and thorough dialogue among key stakeholders.” – Michael Bueza/Rappler.com