The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) today urged the 430 beneficiary local government units (LGUs) to utilize the P1.25-billion support fund to help them carry out devolved functions and services, particularly on projects that are most responsive and beneficial to their constituents.
DILG Secretary Benjamin ‘Benhur’ C. Abalos, Jr. said the P1.25-billion Local Government Support Fund-Growth Equity Fund (LGSF-GEF) is a safety net for lagging LGUs as they cope with the implementation of full devolution within their jurisdictions. He said that while there are LGUs that are ready to meet the demands of the Mandanas-Garcia Supreme Court ruling, some LGUs are facing barriers in their transition to full devolution.
“We commit to the full devolution mantra of ‘No LGU shall fall behind’. LGSF-GEF is a welcome assistance to our LGUs as we recognize that some of them need more assistance than others, kaya naman nagsusumikap kaming matulungan ang bawat LGU sa prosesong ito,”Abalos said.
He said the LGSF-GEF program will benefit 430 LGUs consisting of three provinces, seven cities, 150 municipalities, and 270 barangays for 2022-2023.
LGSF-GEF program is created to provide additional funding to LGUs that are identified as poor, disadvantaged, and lagging to support the implementation of their priority projects and services to be allocated to provinces (10%), cities (10%), municipalities (70%), and barangays (10%).
Utilizing the LGSF-GEF allocation
Abalos said the LGSF-GEF can be used for the implementation of LGUs’ infrastructure projects such as roads, evacuation centers, or water systems, or non-infrastructure projects such as financial assistance or medical assistance.
Since the cash allocation from the program was already released to beneficiary LGUs last July, he said that LGUs should now start pinning down the priority projects where the fund will be used. He said LGUs cannot use the fund unless the project is eligible under the guidelines of LGSF-GEF stated in Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Local Budget Circular (LBC) No. 146.
“Pinapaalalahanan po namin ang beneficiary LGUs na ang pondong ito ay gagamitin lamang upang unti-unting makayanan nilang magampanan nang buo ang debolusyon. Hindi ito puwedeng gamitin sa ibang proyekto,”Abalos said.
In a memorandum, Abalos urged LGUs to submit project proposals utilizing LGSF-GEF taking into account the most urgent needs of their constituents in the context of the implementation of full devolution. Beneficiary LGUs, he said, must solely use the said fund for the efficient implementation of the devolved functions and services pursuant to Section 17 of Republic Act No. 7160.
Under the said memorandum, the LGSF-GEF shall be exclusively used by the beneficiary LGUs to gradually enable their full and efficient implementation of the devolved functions and services. Other determining factors for a project’s eligibility are: it should be included in their approved Devolution Transition Plans (DTPs); it should be included in the approved Local Development Investment Programs and Annual Investment Programs; and, it should be deemed most beneficial to their constituents, based on public consultations conducted through Civil Society Organizations, among others.
Likewise, the beneficiary higher level LGUs (i.e., provinces, cities, and municipalities) shall also prioritize their component LGUs that did not receive any allocation from the 2022 LGSF-GEF to optimize its utilization and avoid double-funding.
Since immediate access to the LGSF-GEF by beneficiary LGUs is one of the priorities of Abalos for his first 100 days, the DILG Secretary likewise instructed LGUs to expedite the submission of their project proposals or profiles to Regional Offices of the DILG for verification of their projects.
Original Article at: https://dilg.gov.ph/news/DILG-to-430-LGU-beneficiaries-Use-P125B-support-fund-for-devolved-functions-services/NC-2022-1139