The focal and alternate focal persons of the Department of the Interior and Local Government in Ilocos Region (DILG-R1) underwent a training program on the community-based monitoring system (CBMS) to enhance their field supervision and operational skills in preparation for the 2022 CBMS National Rollout.
As indicated in Republic Act (RA) No. 11315, the CBMS is an organized technology-based system of collecting, processing, and validating necessary disaggregated data that may be used for planning, program implementation and impact monitoring at the local level.
The law mandates that data collection using the CBMS shall be synchronized, conducted regularly, and will be undertaken in every municipality and city every three years.
Delegates from the DILG attended the eight-day Second Level Operational Training on CBMS held at the Jorisan Waterfront Resort in Bauang, La Union which was the last training before the Provincial Operational Training for the head CBMS area supervisors (HCAS) and CBMS area supervisors (CAS).
Earlier, the DILG explained that the CBMS is a valuable tool that will assist the LGUs to appropriately allocate and use their bigger tax allotments so they could better plan and implement poverty alleviation and development programs for their communities.
“LGUs need to utilize their resources well now that they will have bigger tax allotments because of the Mandanas-Garcia ruling. With the nationwide rollout of the CBMS, we will be able to equip LGUs with the proper system and tool to help them assess, plan, and implement development programs for their localities,” DILG Undersecretary Marlo L. Iringan said.
Iringan said that the Supreme Court’s (SC’s) Mandanas-Garcia ruling implementation creates greater demand for relevant data at the local level.
By using the CBMS, Iringan noted that the LGUs will know “the true socioeconomic status of their locality and will be able to channel their bigger shares from national taxes to craft more responsive, effective, and targeted plans to improve the lives of their constituents.”
The SC ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia petitions held that LGUs are entitled to a just share in all collections of national taxes, except those accruing to special-purpose funds and special allotments for the utilization and development of the national wealth.
“CBMS is very important when the Mandanas-Garcia ruling will be implemented because it will empower LGUs to make well-informed decisions as it allows for evidence-based planning and more responsive budgets. With CBMS, LGUs will be able to identify which sectors and target beneficiaries to prioritize and what to focus on," he added.
He added that the CBMS can help ensure that the additional resources from the National Tax Allotment (NTA) will be spent on the right interventions targeting the right beneficiaries as an LGU implements devolved functions and services during the transition period.