Pimentel presents more than 85 amendments to the Local Government Code

Senator Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. presented more than 85 amendments to the Local Government Code aimed at improving the nine-year law and strengthening local autonomy.

Pimentel, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government discussed the proposed amendments at the 3rd hearing in a series of nationwide public consultations at the Cagayan State University (CSU) Gymnasium, Tuguegarao City on August 11, 2000.

He said the Code, enacted in 1991, is not a perfect document as it requires s review of this comprehensive law every five years.  He said the country has fallen behind this codal mandate but added that should not matter much.

"What matters is that we review the Code, and build upon the wealth of experiences over the past decade not only to improve the law, but more importantly, strengthen local government units towards the eventual objective that is local empowerment," Pimentel said at his opening statements.

The wide-ranging amendments are embodied in Senate Bill 2064, authored by Pimentel, known as "An Act to Strengthen Local Government Units by Amending Certain Provisions of Republic Act 7160."

The amendments are clustered in the following areas are:  principles and policies and intergovernmental relations; devolution of powers and functions; revenue sources and fiscal management, structures and systems; and popular participation.

Pimentel said that from all counts, the devolution of government powers and functions to LGUs has been a success.

While devolution may not have been a smashing success, the senator said he has personally seen how it has unleashed the potentials in the countryside long held hostage by a very powerful centralized politico administrative system based in "Imperial Manila."

The Code, of which Pimentel was chief author, vested the LGUs the responsibility to deliver certain basic services, including health, agriculture, social welfare and certain aspects of environmental and natural government.

Pimentel said the Code transferred to LGUs the authority to issue basic regulatory and licensing functions previously held by the national government.

It also increases the financial resources available to local governments by increasing their share in the internal revenue.

Pimentel said that despite the significant increase of the share of local governments in the Internal Revenue Allotment, this is simply not enough for the LGUs to adequately meet the challenges of devolution.

He also decried that some elements of the national bureaucracy continues to resist devolution, largely because of the misunderstanding and misappropriation of the eventual benefits that decentralization will bring to the "collective policy."

On the devolution of additional powers to the LGUs, Pimentel said the bill seeks to further strengthen barangays by developing to them the construction, repair and rehabilitation of barangay roads, bridges and water supply.  He said this is a sharp deviation from the current practice when barangays were merely involved in the maintenance of the public infrastructure facilities.

The bill devolves additional functions to municipalities such as: disposal systems for all types of waste, not only solid wastes; infrastructure facilities that include, not only those funded by central and provincial government budgets, acquisition of lands for tourism purposes, fire protection service and upgrading and modernization of LGU systems and processes through the use of information technology.

The bill devolves the following functions to the provincial government:  purchase of drugs and medicine currently undertaken by the central government, integration and monitoring of health-related projects and services in the province, and public works and infrastructure projects in the province, including those funded by central government budget.

Pimentel said the proposed amendments reiterate the paradigm of genuine local autonomy, clarify intergovernmental relations, hasten the devolution process, broaden local fiscal resource generation, tighten and rationalize local organizational structures, systems and procedures and intensify people's participation.

"The devolution process unleashed in 1991 has become irreversible.  Local government and local communities have been empowered.  Innovations, best and good practices among local governments abound.  The continuing challenge confronting us today is build upon the gains over the past nine years towards our collective goal of national development and people empowerment," he said.