CAMARINES Sur Rep. Luis Ray Villafuerte on Sunday urged the Senate to pass a bill boosting fiscal autonomy of local government units (LGUs).
He urged the senators to consider a measure that aims to further increase the fiscal autonomy of the LGUs, allowing them to bankroll more development projects and rev up the delivery of frontline services.
“Strengthening local autonomy by increasing the internal revenue allocation prepares the way to achieving President Rodrigo Duterte’s vision of decentralization by federalism in citing the House-passed initiative to raise the IRA — now called National Tax Allotment (NTA) — of LGUs from the current 40 percent to 50 percent,” he said.
The measure would help LGUs become “more responsive and accountable” and finally free them from the clutches of “Imperial Manila,” he said.
“Raising the IRA due LGUs will complement the Supreme Court move to boost LGUs’ fiscal autonomy in ruling in 2018 in the Mandanas-Garcia case that the IRA should be computed on the basis of all national revenue collections and not just on the internal revenue take of the
Bureau of Internal Revenue,” he noted.
The national government is expected to start implementing next year the Mandanas ruling in the allocation of the NTA.
Villafuerte issued the call after the House of Representatives passed on third and final reading House Bill No.10296, the consolidated bill that seeks to increase to 50 percent from 40 percent
the local government share in national taxes.