President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he will issue a new executive order on the implementation of the Mandanas ruling to further strengthen the coordination and partnership between the local and the national governments.
President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. (PPA photo)
Marcos said this as he led the fourth General Assembly of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) in Pampanga on Friday, May 19.
In his speech, the President underscored the importance of a harmonized relationship between the national government and the local government units (LGUs).
“You are not working in a vacuum,” he said.
“We are watching, we are asking, we are consulting with you. And in that way, we will come out with a good Executive Order at the end of the year for a good implementation of the very important Supreme Court decision now we call the Mandanas-Garcia ruling,” he added.
Marcos was referring to the landmark Supreme Court ruling regarding the administrative autonomy of LGUs.
According to the President, he postponed the implementation of Executive Order No. 138 for one year. EO 138 was issued during the previous administration to support the efficient implementation of the SC ruling and strengthen the autonomy and empowerment of the LGUs.
The suspended EO also directs the full devolution of certain functions of the executive branch to the LGUs.
“We gave ourselves until the end of the year 2023 – until the end of this year. And I will sign another executive order putting into place all – and defining very clearly which of the services, which of the functions belong to the local government and which belong to the national government,” Marcos said.
However, the President explained that even though devolution would push through, he noted that the upcoming EO would give local officials the opportunity to act on their own initiatives.
“Yung pag-devolve ng function may kasabay na item, may kasabay na funding, may kasabay na training (The devolution of functions would come with funding and training). So, we are trying to get around that,” he said.
President Marcos assured the local officials that they will continue to have an exchange of ideas and see the practical considerations.
“That is what we are trying to calibrate now – how do we do that so that the local governments are able to perform their functions and are able to provide the services to their constituents that are expected and that are mandated by the Local Government Code,” he said.
Marcos expressed confidence that the local government officials will be able to perform well as they know the real situation in their respective jurisdictions.