January 17, 2000 News Release

A million signatures gathered from the people nationwide opposing any reduction in the internal revenue allotment (IRA) of local government units will be presented to legislators tomorrow in a bid to avert a proposed P10 billion IRA cut described by local officials as unconstitutional and illegal.

This was revealed today by officials of the 1.2 million-strong Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) led by Laguna Gov. Joey Lina who said local officials are regrouping to mount anew protest actions against the IRA cut. An emergency meeting of ULAP officials has been set at 2 p.m. on Thursday (Jan. 20) in Manila to finalize protest actions.

Lina said the million signatures, with four million more to follow, were gathered last December from local government officials, employees, and their constituents in a massive campaign to raise 5 million signatures opposing the IRA cut. The campaign was temporarily set aside when President Estrada, on the eve of a nationwide LGU work stoppage to protest a P30 billion cut, persuaded the Senate contingent to the bicameral committee to restore the cut.

"To reduce the IRA share of 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 carrying out devolved functions and delivering frontline basic services to the people," ULAP officials said.

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."

"It is most unfair 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," ULAP officials said.

ULAP consists of all leagues of local officials spanning the entire hierarchy of local officialdom from governors down to barangay leaders. It was formed in 1998 by officials of the Leagues of Provinces, Cities, and Municipalities, Vice-Governors’ League, Vice-Mayors’ League, Provincial Board Members’ League, Philippine Councilors’ League, Lady Local Legislators’ League, National Movement for Young legislators, Liga ng mga Barangay and Pederasyon ng Sangguniang Kabataan.