Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, on Wednesday, July 26, vowed to pursue the passage of a measure seeking to introduce amendments to the procurement law and auditing code to help empower local government units (LGUs).
Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero (Senate PRIB Photo)
Escudero said President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. had tackled this in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday, July 24.
The senator said both measures should be prioritized as LGUs prepare for full devolution as envisioned under Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991, as well as the Supreme Court (SC) ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia petitions.
“Amending our old laws on government procurement and audit process are very timely as LGUs prepare for full devolution,” Escudero said in a statement.
“When I was governor, I experienced how tedious the processes were and most of the time, they really impede on local governance and hamper the delivery of services to our people,” the former Sorsogon governor said.
“Ang pag-amiyenda ng mga batas na ito sa lalong madaling panahon ay makakatulong sa ating mga LGUs upang lalo pang mapabuti ang pagseserbisyo sa ating mga mamamayan, (amending these laws at the soonest time possible would greatly help our LGUs for them to improve their services to the public),” the senator added.
In his nationwide address, President Marcos said the passage of the two measures would make government procurement and auditing “more attuned to these changing times.”
The SC decision gives LGUs a just share of all national taxes collected, and not only from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and fully transfers or devolves the delivery of basic services to LGUs.
“We will give effect to the mandate of the Constitution and the Local Government Code, as clarified by the Supreme Court very soon. Almost all the required Devolution Transition Plans of the LGUs are done,” the Chief Executive said.
“To fully prepare them for optimal devolution, the necessary technical and
financial assistance is being extended to our local governments,” Marcos added.
The Government Auditing Code of the Philippines, or Presidential Decree
no. 1445, was put in place on June 11, 1978 while the Government
Procurement Reform Act or Republic Act No. 9184 was approved on January
10, 2003.
Aside from these two measures, Escudero said he is also ready to support the other legislative priorities of the President especially those that would help people recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and help revive the country’s economy.
“I am Looking forward to be working again with my colleagues to secure the passage of many important legislation under the Legislative-Executive Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) as well as pushing for the bills under the Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education that I chair,” he said.