The official association of city mayors in the country urged the national government to release this year the “just share” of local governments in all national taxes, thereby expanding the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of LGUs.
The said appeal is based on the Supreme Court (SC) decision which ruled favorably on the petition of Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas entitling local governments to a share in the national taxes and not just in national internal revenue taxes.
It was made through a resolution issued by the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) following DBM’s statement that the agency is preparing for the implementation of the Supreme Court decision in 2022.
According to LCP National Executive Board Resolution No. 2019-05, the prompt implementation of the Supreme Court decision will allow LGUs to immediately and effectively rally behind and perform their duties in the priority legislative agenda of the Duterte Administration, which include the Universal Health Care Act, the Magna Carta of the Poor, and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Act, among others.
The LCP also asserts that the Supreme Court’s acknowledgement of the 2022 implementation is an obiter dictum, and not a formal and explicit part of the latter’s final decision.
“A deliberate delay in the implementation of the Supreme Court’s decision, regardless of any consideration, may therefore run contrary to such constitutional mandate for fiscal decentralization,” it said.