LGUs

MANILA, Philippines – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is setting aside $500 million for the Philippines’ Local Government Finance and Fiscal Decentralization Reform Program. In addition, the ADB is willing to provide a $1-million technical assistance (TA) grant for the program.

MANILA, Philippines – Local government units (LGUs) are set to receive an internal revenue allotment (IRA) in 2013 that’s highest in the last 3 years, and the first to be generated under the current administration.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT units (LGUs) have been given increased budgetary support in this year’s budget given a revenue collection improvement during the start of the Aquino administration.

Only local governments that have been conferred the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH) will be allowed to secure a loan from banks and other financial institutions, Secretary Jesse Robredo of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) declared. Robredo said the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) has issued a circular that listed…

Manila, Philippines – President Aquino gave assurance yesterday that his administration was working to change the mindset of local government units (LGUs) and empower them so they would become more business-friendly.

Last week, I expressed what I liked most about the new structure and workings of local governments in the Philippines. Today, I would like to express my concerns about current local governance after more than two decades when the Local Government Code was enacted.

Laws and ordinances are enacted primarily to cover more specific and detailed aspects of the ever changing situations in our society that cannot be covered by the Constitution which is broader, briefer and more or less permanent but not self-executory. These laws and ordinances are supposed to implement and thus, must conform to, the provisions…

Quezon City is really one of the richest cities in the country today. It may not be the main business hub, but its coffers have a huge surplus amounting to billions of pesos, thanks to the prudent and competent fiscal management of the past administration under former Mayor and now Speaker of the House of…

The Department of Interior and Local Government on Wednesday warned local government units not to collect pass-through tax, which is illegal.

MANILA, Philippines – Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo is pushing for the amendment of the Local Government Code (LGC) to increase the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of local government units to enable them to promptly respond to calamities and support the implementation of development projects.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said a total of 866 provinces, cities and municipalities made it to the list of local governments that passed the criteria of the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH).

Albay aims to sustain and further improve its maternal and infant mortality reduction performance under the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG) with the completion of nine Basic Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (BEmONC), centers, which are also designed as family hospitals.

MANILA, Philippines – Bohol has the best provincial government in the country, while Valenzuela in Metro Manila and little-known Ligao in Albay have the best city governments, according to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo yesterday said that plans are now in progress to review the existing policies on the collection, distribution and utilization of revenues arising from national wealth.

MANILA, Philippines — “Local government units (LGUs) are partners of the national government and are better positioned to help mitigate the impact of the crisis through counter measures to stimulate local economy.”

MANILA, Philippines – For the third time, the Supreme Court (SC) has reversed itself on the constitutionality of laws passed by the 11th Congress that paved the way for the conversion into cities of 16 municipalities.

The country’s experience with devolution shows the limitation of big ideas turned into laws without adequate studies of how things will work on the ground. It was popular for some political leaders to bash Imperial Manila and demand that more powers be devolved to local governments. It was argued that local governments know what people…

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) chief on Wednesday said at least 600 municipalities all over the country have no fire trucks.

THIRTEEN out of 20 cities carried out regulatory reforms to make it easier to start and operate a business in their localities, according to a joint report of the International Finance Corp. (IFC) and World Bank. In their Doing Business in the Philippines 2011, IFC-World Bank said 65 percent of the cities benchmarked for the…

CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — To strengthen the implementation of its integrated coastal resources management project (ICRMP), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7, in coordination with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 7 has cited the best practices of local government units (LGUs) in Cebu and Siquijor.

MANILA, Philippines—Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo on Tuesday called on all local government officials across the country to allow for more participation of indigenous peoples in policy-making through the appointment of IP representatives.

BARANGAYS are not getting their rightful share of internal revenue collections with the wrong implementation of the Local Government Code, former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr.

Local government units (LGUs) have significant roles when it comes to the realization of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (UN-MDGs) where the Philippines is a signatory.

THE Commission on Elections said Sunday it will suspend the proclamation of winning candidates in today’s village or barangay council elections who are found to have violated the three-term limit set by law and file cases against them.

DESPITE being regarded as the top- earning towns in the Philippines, most of these “rich” municipalities are rich not because of teeming economic activity but because of their internal revenue allotment (IRA).

MANILA, Philippines—Putting the right people in the country’s barangay councils would chart how basic community problems—from petty disputes among neighbors to ensuring that a village is crime- and garbage-free—would be solved.

A ruling by the Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the power of local government units (LGUs) to grant additional compensation to their officials and employees even without prior approval from Malacañang.

THE bailiwicks of Vice President Jejomar Binay and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. are the richest cities in the country and with the highest spending in population control, health and education, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board. Romulo Virola, NSCB secretary general, said that the four consistently richest cities in 2008 were Quezon, Makati,…

MANILA, Philippines – Local government units (LGUs) across the country have been mismanaging their loans and borrowings resulting in financial problems, the wastage of government resources, and failure to accomplish development goals.

The cities of Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Angeles have the most dynamic economy while the cities of Davao, Olongapo and San Fernando (La Union) have the best quality of life, according to a study by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Policy Center (APC). Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Angeles were cited for generating…