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. Read the rest of this entry »

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 of our Constitution. Read the rest of this entry »

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 Representatives Sonny Belmonte. Read the rest of this entry »

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

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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). Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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). Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »

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.” Read the rest of this entry »