Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said on Tuesday, March 29, that seminars, conferences, educational tours and other similar activities of the Liga ng Barangay (LnB) are left to the discretion of the local government units (LGUs).
This was the clarification made by Año over reports that local officials from the Zamboanga Peninsula Region are expected to hold conventions in Quezon City, Tagaytay City and the Ilocos Region.
The convention, reportedly for cross-learning of Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC), was endorsed and approved by DILG Undersecretary Martin Diño based on the request of the regional director of the DILG-Region 9.
"Activities ng Liga ng Barangay yan (those are the activities of the Liga ng Barangay). They can conduct on their own. DILG has nothing to do with that. Our job is just to ensure that it is not being used for political purpose)," said Año.
Meanwhile, DILG Undersecretary and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said that LnB assemblies are allowed as long as clearances are obtained from the local DILG.
When informed of Año’s stand on the matter, Malaya responded “essentially the same. But the LnB as per practice seeks clearance from the local DILG office.’’
In a March 14 letter addressed to Region 9 LnB president Rogelio Isip, Diño said “that this office interposes no objection to the conduct of the said activities as long as minimum public health standards in a relation to the protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force in the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) and all legal requirements are properly complied with.
Diño added in the letter “that it is hereby recommended that a disaster preparedness kit be distributed to the participants to properly equip them with the right supplies and tools in times of disasters and other emergencies.’’
Diño’s reply was in response to Isip’s March 7 letter requesting the DILG for authority for the conduct of the LnB Region 9 convention on March 24 in Quezon City, Ilocos Sur and ilocos Norte for the first batch of participants; on April 8 in Quezon City and Tagaytay City for the second batch and on April 29 in Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte and Quezon City for the third batch. (Chito A. Chavez)