January 14, 2000 News Release

To include the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share of local government units (LGUs) in a burden-sharing scheme to resolve the national budget crisis is most unfair as it will not only violate the Constitution and the law but will also disrupt the operations of LGUs that have been delivering frontline basic services to the people.

This was stressed yesterday by Laguna Gov. Jose Lina Jr., president of the 1.2 million-strong Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) who said local officials nationwide are regrouping to mount massive protest actions again in the wake of published reports that the bicameral conference committee on the national budget will slash anew by P10 billion the LGUs’ IRA.

Lamenting that LGUs have been slapped many deductions they had to bear silently in the past years, Lina said that "LGUs have now awakened and realized the injustice being done, in wanton disregard of the Constitution and the Local Government Code."

"The law is clear and unequivocal," Lina stressed as he decried apparent attempts by certain legislators to ignore the law "when legislators should be the first to respect the laws they themselves passed."

Defending the LGUs’ rightful share to their IRA, Lina cited Article 10, Section 6 of the Constitution stating that LGUs "shall have a just share, as determined by law, in the national taxes which shall be automatically released to them."

He also cited Sections 284, 285, and 286 of the LG Code stating that the P121.77 billion year 2000 LGUs' share, representing 40 percent of the national internal revenue taxes collected in 1997, shall be released to each LGU "without any lien or holdback that may be imposed by the national government for whatever purpose and in no case shall the allotment be less than 30 percent of the collection of national internal revenue taxes of the third fiscal year preceding the current fiscal year."

"There is no need to continuously pick on LGUs that are responsible for an array of devolved functions including health, agricultural, social welfare, peace and order, environmental protection, and other services transferred from national government agencies," Lina said as he decried renewed attempts to deviate from the agreement forged last December by President Estrada to restore a P30 billion IRA cut.