Monday, May 20, 2019

The Philippine Local Fiscal Administration

In the Filipinos took three forms- devolution, deconcentration and delegation. As Carlno affirms, the framers of the 1987 Constitution institutionalized decentralization with the end-view of realizing democracy and phylogeny especially at the grassroots level. Devolution paved way for the transfer of political supply from the central politics to the local anesthetic administration wholes.This transfer of power and functions was accompanied by the provision of a higher Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), broader impose base and a just share In the case ealth to finance devolved responsibilities and provision of various goods and function. This was accompanied by deconcentration which is the transfer of administrative powers and functions from central offices of government agencies to the field offces at the regional, provincial, and municipal/city level.In consonance with the concept that local government units are to a greater extent responsive to the needs of their communitie s, deconcentration was institutionalized vis-a- vis devolution as a means tor national government agencies (NGAs) to succeed assistance to LGUs by etung standards In the Implementation of various programs and monitor the operation and services of the LGUs along the variant socio-economic and political dimensions.Contrary to the past practices wherein the central government through and through the national government agencies (NGAs) exercises a degree of meet in the implementation of programs at the LGU level, deconcentratlon aims to lessen, If not remove, the control from the national government and replace it with supervisory functions. Ideally, through deconcentration, NGAs set standards and supervise LGUS provision of various services to the community (i. DOH and LGLJ health services).Decentralization in the Philippines as well took the form of delegation, or what other author calls as debureaucratization. This was the go away of the surmounting clamor for participatory gove rnance and sprightly citizenship during the ouster of the late President Ferdinand Marcos through the Peoples Power Revolution and even prior to and later the give tongue to historic event. The author of the Consitution saw it fit, as a response to the call of the times, to put greater violence on the Involvement of non- government organizations, peoples organizations, and the private sector in governance.In this way, democracy and development was believed to be realised when the voices ot the marginalized, poor and other people aggrupations are heard and considered In decision-making at the different government level. In contrast to the experience of other countries, decentralization In the Philippines took a complete form. This whitethorn be attri simplyed to the political atmosphere in the 1980S- 1 BOOs conducive to decentralization and democratic form of government. Colombia deconcentrated its state services but placed a limit In the delegation and devolution of powers.Same can be said with the experiences of Mexico and Togo. The Philippines as well has a effective framework conducive to democratic decentralization. Decentrallzatlon tnroDs In tne Article x 0T tne IYB/ constltutlon wnere tne congress is mandated to ordain a Local Government Code which shall provide for a more responsive and accountable local government structure instituted through a system of decentralization. Countries like Spain and China lack this legal framework despite substantial decentralization.This means that decentralization in the Philippines possesses a degree of permanency that would ensure the perseveration in LGUs exercise of devolved powers and functions. In the words of Katorobo, decentralization in the Philippines has a more stable surroundings (Katorobo, 2004). The system of decentralization in the country is also more responsive to the needs of the local community. strange the experiences of India, China and Russia where powers and functions were only(prenomi nal) devolved at the state and regional levels, decentralization in the Philippines reaches down to the basic unit of government, the barangays.Due to our countrys bent towards democracy, the Philippines has a higher form of decentralization as compared to other countries (Ibid. . The central government has transferred more powers and functions to the local governments and has provided more avenues for civil society engagement in local governance. Role of Local monetary Administration in a Decentralized Setup The transfer of powers and functions to local government units (LGUs) necessitates the transfer and redistribution of monetary choices. LGUs need sources and means to finance devolved services.Thus, the Local Government Code of 1991 provided LGUs with an increase in the IRA share, broader tax base, and a Just share in the national wealth. The redistribution of financial resources is essential for LGUs to realize local development as more responsive services are provided to t he community. Local fiscal administration plays an important fiber in the proficiency of local development as well as in the attainment of national goals. LGUs have to maximize powers and functions particularly their taxing powers and other functions in line with revenue generation and resource allocation to hasten development at the local level.A good local fiscal administration is require to realize inclusive growth and poverty reduction as utlined in the Philippine Development design 2011- 2016. Improvements in the different aspects of local fiscal administration- systems, structures, processes, officials and personnel, and policy environment- is a means for the local government to hold back higher income levels to finance local government operations and services intended to uplift living conditions in the communities. As stated in the Handbook of Local Fiscal Administration in the Philippines by Celestino, et. al. these improvements may come in the form of new technology, g ood staffing patterns, adequate skills of ersonnel, heightened awareness of LGUs of available credit facilities, raise capacity of LGU for development planning, and the presence of political will among others. These domiciliate to increased LGU revenues and improved delivery of services to the community. Ultimately, poor living conditions and issues on human development (i. e. health diseases, malnutrition, illiteracy, unemployment, underemployment, environmental degradation, etc. ) are intercommunicate when LGUs are able to provide more than adequate services.Improvements along these areas have an intrinsic value to the society. A healthier and educated population is a way of eradicating poverty. Same is true with the provision and generation of Jobs at the local level. same can De sala wltn eTTo rts to protect ana preserve ecological Dalance in any given community. These contribute to the achievement of inclusive growth and eradication of poverty. Local Fiscal Administration 2 0 Years after the Codes Enactment A closer look at the 20- year Philippine experience of decentralization,however, shows that the country has succeeded only to a certain extent in its decentralization efforts.Llanto, in his iscussion paper, The Assignment of Functions and Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations in the Philippines Twenty Years after Decentralization, has observed that outgo responsibilities with benefits confined within the territorial legal power of local governments were correctly assigned to LGUs. By these, he means that the Code correctly devolved functions and responsibilities on cordial demands and concerns that LGUs are in the best positions to respond to. He also mentioned that the Code ensured a clear tax- expenditure assignment.Nonetheless, despite success tories on decentralization particularly on local fiscal autonomy, Llanto observed pressure sensation issues that need to be addressed if the country has to succeed in its decentralization efforts. These iss ues are 1. The presence of two- jumper lead delivery system where NGAs perform devolved functions falling under the LGUs. 2. The increase in NGA budgets as a result of overlapping implementation of devolved programs 3. The misallocation of resources at the local level caused by the abuse of the pork barrel. 4. The low locally- sourced revenues in comparison to the total LGU expenditure. 5.The IRA-dependency of LGUs . The mismatch in the increase of expenditures and the quality of services 7. The inequitable access to local tax bases where cities have broader taxing powers than the provinces and municipalities. 8. The inability to raise adequate local revenues to the absence of competent staff and poor revenue generation systems. 9. The poor predictability in the size of the IRA. His suggestions to address these issues include the following 1. The dish out of regular local public expenditure review 2. The use of poverty index, human development index, or resource indicator instead of the equal sharing criteria. The improvement of local tax administration. 4. The review and modify of local tax codes. 5. The institutionalization of a monitoring and reward system to recognize good local government performance in fiscal administration. 6. The avoidance of the imposition of unfunded mandates by the identification of source of patronage apart from the coffers of the local government units 7. The alliance building/ resource pooling among LGUs for activities and services with inter-urisdictional spillovers. There is still a lot of work to be done in our pursuit of successful decentralization nd the attainment of local development.Legislators and other policy makers have to pause and seriously consider the issues which surfaced in our first 20 years of decentralization. I believe that if we are to make any progress, incremental steps have to be taken towards countering these issues and challenges. And there is no importune time than the present to start providing in terventions to the multiple concerns that confront the Philippine decentralization system.

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