The House of Representatives is bent on passing measures that seek to empower local government units (LGUs) and make them more effective participants in national development.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez had this to say Tuesday, Feb. 28 during the 31st national convention and election of officers of the Provincial Board Members League of the Philippines (PBMLP) at the Manila Hotel.
“Be assured that your House of Representatives recognizes the indispensable role local governments play in national development, and is taking steps to ensure that these institutions are adequately enabled so that they can discharge their responsibilities more effectively,” Romualdez told PBMLP members in his speech.
He enumerated several LGU empowerment proposals that the House is considering, including House Bill (HB) No.2400, which aims to strengthen local autonomy through a more rationalized system of decentralization; and HB Nos. 790 and 1089, which seek to increase LGUs’ share from national taxes.
The other measures are HB No.111, which seeks to promote village empowerment so that LGUs can be more effective in pursuing inclusive growth through budget reforms that shall distribute funds between national and local governments equitably; HB No. 426, which aims to establish environment and natural resources management offices in all provinces, cities and municipalities; and HB No. 493, which aims to authorize LGUs to establish adequate primary care networks in support of Republic Act (RA) No. 11223, or the Universal Health Care Act.
“These are but some of the measures currently pending at your House of Representatives seeking to empower local governments,” the Speaker said.
He also stressed the importance of cooperation among LGUs such as provinces, and urged the PBMLP to continue serving as the venue for interprovincial collaboration.
“I encourage the incoming officers to build on the victories of the previous leadership and continue blazing the trail of inter-provincial cooperation towards development,” he said, before congratulating the incoming officers of the league.
“Believe me when I say that with unity of spirit, there is really much we can do. If there is one hard lesson we would do well to learn from the pandemic, it is this: cooperation is imperative,” he said.
“We have seen with increasing frequency how the problems we face today do not recognize arbitrary territorial boundaries. And the best way to address these problems is through collaborative action,” the House leader added.
Pampanga 3rd district Provincial Board Member Ananias Canlas Jr. is the league’s national president.
Romualdez pointed out that it was teamwork among LGUs that he and Tingog Party-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre had envisioned when they filed HB No. 5.
The proposed law, which the House has already passed on third and final reading, calls for an integrated onsite, in-city, near-city, or off-city resettlement program for thousands of informal settler families.
“We put forward the proposal as a better approach to the traditional way informal settlers are relocated. We observed that the relocation sites do not provide employment opportunities and livelihood as well as social services, which force those resettled to go back to areas they were originally occupying illegally,” Romualdez said.
He said the bill seeks to institutionalize inclusive growth and require prior consultation with stakeholders when off-city relocation is the only option. It also provides that social preparation activities be undertaken prior actual relocation.