December 15, 1999 NEWS RELEASE

Local government units (LGUs) cannot give the planned 10 percent salary increase of all government employees by January next year, delivery of basic social services will bog down, and programs on food security, mass housing, and health services will be gravely affected as a direct result of the Senate’s decision to cut by P30 billion the internal revenue allotment (IRA) of LGUs.

The grim scenario was painted in resolutions passed yesterday by various local legislative councils or Sanggunians all over the country urging the bicameral conference committee to reject the IRA cut even as local officials belonging to the 1.2 million Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) led by Laguna Gov. Joey Lina intensified protest actions nationwide yesterday.

At the same time, ULAP officials called on Senate Majority leader and bicameral committee member Sen. Franklin Drilon to be consistent with an earlier ruling he made in 1992 when he was then Justice secretary that reducing the IRA of LGUs "is violative of Sections 284 and 285 of the 1991 Local Government Code."

The battle against the staggering IRA cut has shifted to high gear with more rallies staged at various provincial capitols including a demonstration planned this Friday, 2 p.m., at the Quezon Memorial Circle fronting the PCA building where members of the Senate-House bicameral body are deliberating on the year 2000 national budget.

Local officials and employees will continue to wear black ribbons and pins and drape black cloths on the facades of local government buildings as a sign of mourning until the IRA cut is restored, ULAP officials said as they lambasted senators, except for Sen. Pimentel, who "did not raise a whimper" when the Senate slashed on Monday night the LGUs’ IRA by 25 percent, triggering widespread indignation among local executives.

"The IRA cut shows that the welfare of LGUs is not a genuine concern of the Senate which up to now is merely paying lip service to the cause of local autonomy," said ULAP officials as they stepped up the massive campaign to collect 5 million signatures nationwide calling for the restoration of the P30 billion.

Simultaneous protest actions led by governors and mayors continued today in Surigao del Norte, Southern Leyte, Agusan del Norte, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Abra, Bulacan, Laguna, Camarines Sur, Leyte and other key areas in Visayas and Mindanao, according to latest reports reaching ULAP’s Manila office.

Even in Cebu, the home province of Sen. John Osmena who proposed the IRA cut, a consultation rally was held today at the provincial capitol.

A call made by Negros Occidental Gov. Rafael Coscolluela for all local officials to withdraw support for the reelection bids of all senators who "never bothered to raise a whimper" against the IRA cut, except for Sen. Aquilino Pimental who furiously resisted the proposal during deliberations on the Senate floor, is now being considered.

"We will not take this matter (the IRA cut) lightly," said Bulacan Gov. Josefina de la Cruz as she expressed the sentiments of local officials who vowed to intensify protest actions in the coming days.

ULAP had warned that any IRA cut will not only be "unconstitutional" but will push financially beleaguered LGUs towards bankruptcy and will result in the crippling of numerous socio-economic programs including the Estrada administration’s centerpiece programs on food security and mass housing.

"Depriving LGUs of the full IRA is depriving our people of the most basic services as guaranteed in our Constitution and provided by the 1991 Local Government Code," said Ulap’s position paper expressing the sentiments of all local officials from the 78 provinces, 83 cities, 1,452 municipalities, and all 42,000 barangays throughout the country.