“Local government units should also be given the power to propose instead of always passively accepting projects from the national government.”
This was the call of Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines president and Quirino governor Dax Cua after Pres. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. announced that he would order the return of the practice of government agencies, particularly of the DPWH, of securing local government unit approval before implementing national government-funded projects.
The President made his announcement after an inspection on Sunday of a “rock netting” site in Tuba, Benguet.
“Granting LGUs the power to propose projects that they have already prioritized would go a long way towards addressing the gap that has been a cause of disconnect and even discord between LGUs and the national government.”
Cua expressed his wholehearted support for Marcos’ announcement, as he lamented that under the Local Government Code, the only requirement regarding infrastructure projects is that LGUs be informed of any projects that would be undertaken within their jurisdiction.
Section 524 (b) of the Code states, “No infrastructure or community project within the territorial jurisdiction of any local government unit shall be undertaken without informing the local chief executive and the sanggunian concerned.”
Cua noted, however, that “merely being informed” is different from having the power to approve or propose, and under the current system LGUs are helpless if the DPWH embarks on infrastructure projects even if these run counter to their own development agenda or comprehensive land use plans, “because Section 524 (b) is basically just an FYI.”
“Nasaan ba ang identification ng project? Sino ba nag-identify niyan at bakit ‘yan ang pinipili at hinihingi instead of all the other services, infrastructure na pangangailangan ng community?” he added.
“If the project turns out to be good, no harm no foul. But what if the implementation is botched, or the project has a detrimental effect on the environment or the quality of life of the community? The LGUs would then be powerless in the face of such overreach,” he lamented.
Granting LGUs the power to propose projects that they have already prioritized would go a long way towards addressing the gap that has been a cause of disconnect and even discord between LGUs and the national government, Cua said.
“Bigyan naman sana ang LGU, hindi lang boses sa pag-accept, pero pati boses sa pag-propose. Kasi minsan, iyong prioritization, nawawala na—nauuna pa ‘yung flood control kaysa mga kalsada, nauuna pa flood control kaysa classroom, kaysa mga kinakailangang irrigation atbp. So minsan ang prioritization, doon talaga ang susi,” he said.
