President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan and Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos to analyze and identify the functions that should be devolved to local government units (LGUs).
“Should the LGUs lack the funds to implement the functions and services, the National Government should have a program to assist them,” Marcos said.
Marcos emphasized the need to first define and prioritize core functions and services for devolution to the LGUs.
He directed the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to conduct a sensitivity analysis to determine the maximum benefits the government can derive from its investments, including the functions and services to be delegated to the LGUs.
Marcos instructed the NEDA to complete the study and submit it to the Office of the President by the end of February 2024.
The NEDA is responsible for recommending ways to implement phased devolution, including a timeline based on LGU capacity. This is in addition to the ongoing study on determining functions and services to be performed by the national government and devolved to LGUs.
Marcos also tasked the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), in collaboration with the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), with creating a list of basic functions and services that LGUs should perform based on their Devolution Transition Plans and the national government’s responsibilities.
As per Marcos’s request, the DILG has until January 2024 to present the list to the President, a month earlier than the NEDA’s analysis report.
