Body to enforce local governance reform project formed

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has issued an administrative order (AO) creating an interagency governing board (IGB) that will implement the Local Governance Reform Project (LGRP).

Under AO 40 inked on Tuesday, the Secretary of the Department of Finance (DOF) is designated to chair the IGB that will provide policy direction and oversight function of the LGRP.

The designated alternate to the DOF Secretary as IGB Chair would be the Undersecretary of the Revenue Operations Group of the DOF, the AO said.

Other members of IGP include representatives from the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Budget and Management, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Bureau of Internal Revenue, and Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF).

One representative each from the leagues of provinces, cities, and municipalities; a non-government organization, and the private sector will also serve as IGP members, according to the AO.

“The IGB representatives from the government sector shall not be lower than an Assistant Secretary or its equivalent, to be designated by the head of the agency, while the representatives from the private sector shall be appointed by the IGB Chair, upon the endorsement of their respective organizational heads,” the order, which takes effect immediately, read.

The IGB is tasked to ensure the attainment of the LGRP’s major outputs within its implementation timetable; review overall project strategy and direction; promulgate policy guidance on appropriate measures to address challenges; and oversee LGRP activities and monitor compliance of implementing agencies.

In 2019, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a USD300 million (PHP14.4 billion) policy-based loan for LGRP which aims to help the government create a legal and institutional framework for local revenue mobilization.

The project seeks to boost local government revenue through improvements in the administration and management of real property taxes.

According to the ADB website, the loan supports the Philippines’ efforts to help local government units (LGUs) across the country deliver high-quality and accountable services, boost economic development, and reduce poverty.

The LGRP is in line with the government’s plan to expand the role of LGUs as catalysts of local economic development, as outlined in the Philippine Development Plan 2017–2022.

The LGRP has a project horizon of four years with the BLGF of the DOF as the Executing Agency and several key national government agencies as implementing partners.

“To ensure the successful implementation of the LGRP, and as part of its implementing arrangements, there is a need to convene an interagency body that will set the policy direction of the Project, and ensure proper complementation, cooperation and coordination of executing and implementing agencies, and relevant stakeholders,” according to AO 40.

The IGB is directed to convene at least twice a year, or as may be necessary upon the call of its chairperson.

The IGB will be deemed dissolved on July 31, 2024, unless the President sets another date for its dissolution.

Expenditures for consultative meetings, workshops and similar activities of IGB and its implementing partners, necessary for the effective implementation of the project, would be charged against the funding allocations of the LGRP.

Implementing partners are not precluded from including allocations for subsequent LGRP-related activities in their annual agency appropriations under the General Appropriations Act, subject to the usual budgeting process and accounting rules and regulations.