Politicians extend term, perks with new turfs
Last December, most of Surigao del Norte voters approved the creation of Dinagat Island into a province. Although only 45 percent of the registered voters voted--with the “yes" votes winning by a mere 6,000 margin--the results practically handed the island to the Ecleos on a silver platter.
The Ecleos have established a fiefdom in the island since the 1960s through Ruben Ecleo Sr., the family’s patriarch and mayor of Dinagat town for 24 years until his death in 1987.
Twenty years after his death, the clan is still thriving. More so after the island became a province.
In the coming May elections, the race is over for the three highest posts in Dinagat Island. The senior Ruben’s wife Glenda runs uncontested as representative of the province’s Lone District. She just finished her second term as representative of Surigao del Norte’s First District, which used to cover the islands of Dinagat and Siargao.
Their daughter, interim governor Geraldine Ecleo-Villaroman, is the sole gubernatorial candidate.
Surigao del Norte provincial board member Elvis de la Merced, secretary general of the island-based Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA), also runs unopposed as vice governor. Ruben Sr. founded PBMA; their eldest son, Ruben Jr., inherited his title “Divine Master" and “Supreme President."
Dinagat Islands is the site of the bloody fighting between the police and armed PBMA followers who tried to prevent the arrest of Ruben Jr. on June 18, 2002. Twenty-three people died in the shootout, 16 from PBMA. Ruben Jr., facing parricide charges for the murder of his wife, had since been allowed to post bail.
Among the candidates for Dinagat’s first Sangguniang Panlalawigan or provincial board are Glenda’s other daughter Gracelyn Ecleo and a certain Romeo Ecleo.
Benglen Ecleo, another son of Glenda’s, is gunning for reelection unopposed as San Jose town mayor. San Jose is the base of the Ecleos and was named in honor of Jose Ecleo, father of former Dinagat mayor Ruben Ecleo Sr.
Five other Ecleos are seeking seats in the town council--Glenda’s other son Allan II, Elvin Ecleo, Jessie Ecleo, Michael Angelo Ecleo and Henry Ecleo Malatamban.
Glenda’s other daughter, Gwendolyn, is seeking reelection as Dinagat mayor. In Cagdianao town, Ruben Al Borja Ecleo is unopposed in the vice mayoralty race. He is a son of Ruben Sr. with his alleged mistress Reyneria Borja, a former provincial board member who is now running for town councilor.
Glenda, the Ecleo matriarch, has long been pushing for the creation of Dinagat province. She filed the bill in July 2004. Six months later, it was approved on third reading, without any opposing votes. It took time in the Senate before it was passed on August 2006. President Arroyo approved the bill after two months.
Glenda is a member of the ruling Lakas-NUCD, whose members comprise one-third of the House of Representatives. PBMA is an ardent supporter of Malacañang, including President Arroyo’s efforts to amend the Constitution.
More districts, LGUs
Dinagat is just one of the new LGUs that will conduct elections for the first time this year.
The creation of new LGUs and legislative districts was a major preoccupation of the 13th Congress.
In various stages of deliberations are bills converting 35 municipalities into component cities and creating at least 33 barangays, 15 legislative districts, 11 provinces, four municipalities and two regions. (See Table 1. LGUs and legislative districts sought for creation/conversion)
These include proposals to divide into two the provinces of Cebu (Cebu del Norte and Cebu del Sur), Quezon, Bukidnon and Misamis. Rep. Rodolfo Plaza of the Lone District of Agusan del Sur even filed a bill creating the municipality of Monting Plaza in honor of his father, former Gov. Democrito Plaza.
Thus, from 75 provinces in 1991-- the year the Local Government Code was enacted into law-- the number of provinces has jumped to 81. There are now 1,628 cities and municipalities from the 1,563 in 1991. In two decades since 1987, the number of legislative districts swelled from 198 to 220.
In the coming May elections alone, an additional 23 legislative districts, provinces and cities/municipalities were added.
See Table 3. Newly created legislative districts
See Table 4. Newly created municipalities
See Table 5. Municipalities converted into cities
See Table 6. New provinces
After the 2004 elections, the Commission on Elections conducted plebiscites ratifying the creation of these new provinces, municipalities and barangays and the conversion of municipalities into cities.
The amount the government spent on these plebiscites is not immediately known; Comelec personnel said the records are among those gutted by the recent fire that engulfed their building.
But Comelec sources said a plebiscite creating a province costs around P10 to P13 million while that creating a municipality ranges from P2 to P3 million depending on the size of the LGU.
Lawmakers endorsing the creation of new LGUs and legislative districts would write off the amount. After all, the division would supposedly spur economic development and facilitate the delivery of basic services to the areas.
“The theory was the smaller the local government, the more responsive or closer you get to the constituents," said Prof. Simeon Ilago, director of the Center for Local and Regional Governance of UP’s National College of Public Administration and Governance. “The smaller LGU would at least address the need for democratic representation."
Twelve of the 13 new municipalities are in the poverty-stricken Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Seven new towns were carved out of fourth and fifth-class municipalities in the provinces of Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan and Lanao del Sur. (See Table 7. Newly created municipalities and the income class of their mother municipalities)
But the question begs to be answered: is there wisdom in subdividing fourth and fifth-class municipalities?
Ilago said there is a need to review the way our leaders organize or create local governments. Lawmakers, for one, should consider if the new entity would be able to comply with existing laws.
“What is the scale in which a health center would be more efficient in providing services? Will the new municipality be able to provide the basic health services? If you need a doctor where would he be coming from? Baka naman sa kabilang syudad pa," he said.
Creating a new efficient local government entails a new organizational structure, new positions, physical infrastructure like municipal halls and health centers. “Consequently, this means a bigger budget," Ilago noted.
Ironically, the supposed bid to improve governance would result in a heavier bureaucracy at a time of a financial crunch.
The prevailing frenzy to create new LGUs in fact goes against the current norm. Ilago said the trend in other countries like Japan is to rationalize the number of LGUs. “Other countries, in response to fiscal pressure, reduce the number of local governments to rationalize the scale of provision of services. So mukhang backward tayo," he said. “Offhand, dito, you create LGUs because you need to create additional positions."
New posts, old faces
In the end, it’s all about creating new turfs to enhance the influence of the leaders.
An ARMM insider said the province of Shariff Kabunsuan was sliced off Maguindanao “to ease the headache" of Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan. “The dominant family in the areas that eventually comprised Shariff Ampatuan is not allied with the Ampatuans. The solution was to have their own territory in which they can govern," the source said.
The source added that the ARMM Legislative Assembly churned out the laws creating the new municipalities to minimize political rivalry among the clans. “Ang magiging mayor ng mga yan, kamag-anak ng dominant clan," he said.
A look at the partial official list of candidates in Maguindanao shows that at least 16 candidates are running unopposed. They include the Ampatuans -- former Rep. Simeon Ampatuan Datumanong for the First District, reelectionist Gov. Andal Ampatuan and Sajid Islam Ampatuan for vice governor. Two other Ampatuans are running unopposed.
Some of the new towns were in fact named after the dominant clan in their area. Running unopposed in Mangudadatu town are Freddie Mangudadatu for mayor and Sabduliah Mangudadatu for vice mayor. In Datu Anggal Midtimbang town, the lone candidates for mayor and vice mayor are Nathaniel and Ebrahim, both surnamed Midtimbang. The lone candidates for mayor and vice mayor in the mother municipality, Talayan, are also Midtimbangs.
In the newly created Dinagat Islands, province-hood gave the ruling Ecleos a chance to further entrench themselves into power. But the Ecleos are not alone.
As congressman, George Hofer filed the bill creating the province of Zamboanga Sibugay. Hofer lobbied for its approval in the House of Representatives and the Senate. President Joseph Estrada approved it in November 2000.
The following year after its approval, Hofer ran and won as the first elected governor of the province and is now seeking his third and last term this May. His wife Dulce, former mayor of Titay town in Zamboanga Sibugay, is now running for representative of the province’s Second District.
The province of Compostela Valley, created in 1998, was pushed by then Davao del Norte First District Rep. Rogelio Sarmiento. That same election year, Sarmiento represented the First District of ComVal. The Sarmientos also tried to clinch the gubernatorial post in the first-ever local elections in 1998 but failed to get enough votes against Jose Caballero, who is now serving his final term.
Caballero is now fielding his daughter, Kristine Mae, as replacement while he is running as Second District representative.
New LGUs and legislative districts thus open up new avenues for the seasoned, shrewd politician.
Eduardo Roquero is the last mayor of San Jose del Monte when it was still a municipality of Bulacan. The town became a city in 2000; its congressional district was separated from the province’s Fourth District in 2003. Roquero became the first congressman of the Lone District in 2004.
The incumbent city mayor himself, Angelito Sarmiento, was the one who pushed city-hood when he was still congressman of the province’s Fourth District.
With the establishment of two legislative districts in Parañaque City in December 2003, seasoned politician Roilo Golez was back in the political scene. Golez finished three terms as congressman of the defunct Lone District of Parañaque City from 1992 to 2001.
Rep. Victor Sumulong is the principal author of RA 9232 which divided Antipolo City into two congressional districts in 2003. In the local elections the following year, Sumulong ran and won in the Second District.
Extended terms?
Unlike the creation of local government units which should be ratified in a plebiscite, reapportioning of legislative districts throughout the country is a right of Congress to ensure equal representation.
Article 6, Section 5(4) of the 1987 Constitution mandates Congress to make a reapportionment of legislative districts within three years following the return of every census.
But a conflict of interest situation looms when the representative who advanced the reapportionment succeeds and, come election time, seeks office in the newly created district.
With a shrunken, different constituency, the congressmen may be entitled to a new set of term.
Election lawyers offer contrasting opinions on this in the absence of jurisprudence. But most of those interviewed believe that a new constituency means a new office and, consequently, a new set of term.
Three incumbent district representatives are the principal authors of laws that created new legislative districts in their areas.
Surigao del Norte First District Rep. Glenda Ecleo is the force behind the creation of the province of Dinagat Island and its lone district. Ecleo, who is a second-termer, now seeks the Dinagat Island congressional post.
Zamboanga Sibugay Lone District Rep. Belma Cabilao, also a second-termer, is the principal author of the law dividing the province into two legislative districts. Based on the list of candidates for the May elections, she is running in the First District.
Marikina City Lone District Rep. Del de Guzman, another second-termer, runs in the new Second District of the city. He is the principal author of the law reapportioning Marikina City into two legislative districts.
Despite the change in constituency, de Guzman said he is seeking his last term. “The Constitution bars me from seeking another term," he said in a phone interview.
Like de Guzman, Antipolo City Rep. Victor Sumulong counted his first term as congressman of the recently apportioned Second District as his last.
Pork and IRA
The officials of these new local governments will deal with millions of pesos in discretionary funds.
The representative of a new legislative district will automatically get his share of the pork barrel.
A congressman and a party-list representative get P70 million a year or P210 million in a three-year term. For eight new district congressmen, this means an additional P560 million a year of discretionary funds.
This is on top of a basic monthly pay of P35,000 month, a minimum of P50,000 monthly allowance and other allowances such as the P200,000 Christmas allowance and another P200,000 allowance at the end of the sessions, among others.
Rep. Herminio Teves of Negros Oriental’s Third District told reporters recently his total allowance for 2006 was P1.1 million which he declared as additional income from Congress.
The new provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays are given their share of the Internal Revenue Allotment, the local governments’ share from national taxes collected.
IRA is also discretionary to the LGU. The law mandates local governments to allocate a 20-percent development fund out of their IRA share for programs and projects that will contribute to a better standard of living of the constituents.
Unlike the pork barrel which is multiplied for every representative, the IRA is divided among the LGUs.
The IRA increases over the years, from P151.6 billion in 2005, P166.5 billion in 2006 and a proposed P183.9 billion this year.
In 2004, the IRA for provinces ranged from P116 million for Batanes to almost P922 million for Pangasinan. Santa Rosa City in Laguna received 95 million while Quezon City got P1.5 billion. For municipalities, San Jose in Romblon got the smallest amount at close to P4.5 million while Taguig got the most at more than P231 million.
In 2004, 62 of the 79 provinces are highly dependent on IRA (more than 80 percent of total financial resources). Bulk of the IRA is consumed by the local government machinery – salaries and other personnel costs, office maintenance and other operating expenditures and office capital outlay.
Battle for IRA
Local government experts said creating new local governments is actually an attempt to get a share of the IRA pie.
“You convert municipalities into cities because that would entitle them to a higher IRA share. Pero hindi naman nababawasan ang number of municipalities because new ones are created," NCPAG’s Ilago said.
The League of Cities has urged President Arroyo to veto the bills approved by the 13th Congress elevating certain municipalities into cities that allegedly fell short of the income requirement. The city mayors are opposing the creation of more cities because it will diminish their share of the IRA.
“With these creation and conversion of local governments, the pie will be thinly spread," said Carmencita Delantar, director for regional operations and coordination service of the Department of Budget and Management.
Delantar said sharing out IRA to poor areas that have been converted into municipalities or cities goes against the intent of the Local Government Code. The Code states that LGUs should be reliant but not entirely dependent on IRA.
“What we want to initiate is the matter of creation should not just be by creating (LGUs) to get more IRA. Dapat it is because they should really be economically viable, not the other way around," Delantar said.
Requirements ignored
Congress has been granting exemptions in passing bills creating or converting LGUs.
Under the Local Government Code, a municipality may be created if it has an average annual income of at least P2.5 million for the last two consecutive years, a population of at least 25,000 and land area of at least 50 square kilometers.
A municipality or a cluster of barangays may be converted into a component city if it has a locally generated average annual income of at least P100 million for the last two consecutive years and if it has either at least 100 square kilometers of contiguous territory or a population of not less than 150,000.
A province may be created if it has an average annual income of not less than P20 million and if it has either a contiguous territory of at least 2,000 square kilometers or a population of not less than 250,000.
Data from the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Local Government Finance showed that 66 – or more than half -- of the country’s existing 116 cities earn below the P100-million locally generated average annual income required to create a city. Twenty-six of these cities were created in 2000 and 2001. (See Table 8. Recently created cities earning below P100 million)
The ARMM Legislative Assembly appears to have adopted a different set of criteria in creating new municipalities out of poor towns. (See Table 9. Newly created municipalities and the income class of their mother municipalities)
What would become of these new LGUs? Local government experts are glum.
“Sana, hinay-hinay muna sa paggawa ng bagong LGU," Ilago said.
--With reports from Richelle Joyce Figueroa, Brenda Barrientos and Allan Vallarta
The Ecleos have established a fiefdom in the island since the 1960s through Ruben Ecleo Sr., the family’s patriarch and mayor of Dinagat town for 24 years until his death in 1987.
Twenty years after his death, the clan is still thriving. More so after the island became a province.
In the coming May elections, the race is over for the three highest posts in Dinagat Island. The senior Ruben’s wife Glenda runs uncontested as representative of the province’s Lone District. She just finished her second term as representative of Surigao del Norte’s First District, which used to cover the islands of Dinagat and Siargao.
Their daughter, interim governor Geraldine Ecleo-Villaroman, is the sole gubernatorial candidate.
Surigao del Norte provincial board member Elvis de la Merced, secretary general of the island-based Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA), also runs unopposed as vice governor. Ruben Sr. founded PBMA; their eldest son, Ruben Jr., inherited his title “Divine Master" and “Supreme President."
Dinagat Islands is the site of the bloody fighting between the police and armed PBMA followers who tried to prevent the arrest of Ruben Jr. on June 18, 2002. Twenty-three people died in the shootout, 16 from PBMA. Ruben Jr., facing parricide charges for the murder of his wife, had since been allowed to post bail.
Among the candidates for Dinagat’s first Sangguniang Panlalawigan or provincial board are Glenda’s other daughter Gracelyn Ecleo and a certain Romeo Ecleo.
Benglen Ecleo, another son of Glenda’s, is gunning for reelection unopposed as San Jose town mayor. San Jose is the base of the Ecleos and was named in honor of Jose Ecleo, father of former Dinagat mayor Ruben Ecleo Sr.
Five other Ecleos are seeking seats in the town council--Glenda’s other son Allan II, Elvin Ecleo, Jessie Ecleo, Michael Angelo Ecleo and Henry Ecleo Malatamban.
Glenda’s other daughter, Gwendolyn, is seeking reelection as Dinagat mayor. In Cagdianao town, Ruben Al Borja Ecleo is unopposed in the vice mayoralty race. He is a son of Ruben Sr. with his alleged mistress Reyneria Borja, a former provincial board member who is now running for town councilor.
Glenda, the Ecleo matriarch, has long been pushing for the creation of Dinagat province. She filed the bill in July 2004. Six months later, it was approved on third reading, without any opposing votes. It took time in the Senate before it was passed on August 2006. President Arroyo approved the bill after two months.
Glenda is a member of the ruling Lakas-NUCD, whose members comprise one-third of the House of Representatives. PBMA is an ardent supporter of Malacañang, including President Arroyo’s efforts to amend the Constitution.
More districts, LGUs
Dinagat is just one of the new LGUs that will conduct elections for the first time this year.
The creation of new LGUs and legislative districts was a major preoccupation of the 13th Congress.
In various stages of deliberations are bills converting 35 municipalities into component cities and creating at least 33 barangays, 15 legislative districts, 11 provinces, four municipalities and two regions. (See Table 1. LGUs and legislative districts sought for creation/conversion)
These include proposals to divide into two the provinces of Cebu (Cebu del Norte and Cebu del Sur), Quezon, Bukidnon and Misamis. Rep. Rodolfo Plaza of the Lone District of Agusan del Sur even filed a bill creating the municipality of Monting Plaza in honor of his father, former Gov. Democrito Plaza.
Thus, from 75 provinces in 1991-- the year the Local Government Code was enacted into law-- the number of provinces has jumped to 81. There are now 1,628 cities and municipalities from the 1,563 in 1991. In two decades since 1987, the number of legislative districts swelled from 198 to 220.
In the coming May elections alone, an additional 23 legislative districts, provinces and cities/municipalities were added.
See Table 3. Newly created legislative districts
See Table 4. Newly created municipalities
See Table 5. Municipalities converted into cities
See Table 6. New provinces
After the 2004 elections, the Commission on Elections conducted plebiscites ratifying the creation of these new provinces, municipalities and barangays and the conversion of municipalities into cities.
The amount the government spent on these plebiscites is not immediately known; Comelec personnel said the records are among those gutted by the recent fire that engulfed their building.
But Comelec sources said a plebiscite creating a province costs around P10 to P13 million while that creating a municipality ranges from P2 to P3 million depending on the size of the LGU.
Lawmakers endorsing the creation of new LGUs and legislative districts would write off the amount. After all, the division would supposedly spur economic development and facilitate the delivery of basic services to the areas.
“The theory was the smaller the local government, the more responsive or closer you get to the constituents," said Prof. Simeon Ilago, director of the Center for Local and Regional Governance of UP’s National College of Public Administration and Governance. “The smaller LGU would at least address the need for democratic representation."
Twelve of the 13 new municipalities are in the poverty-stricken Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Seven new towns were carved out of fourth and fifth-class municipalities in the provinces of Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan and Lanao del Sur. (See Table 7. Newly created municipalities and the income class of their mother municipalities)
But the question begs to be answered: is there wisdom in subdividing fourth and fifth-class municipalities?
Ilago said there is a need to review the way our leaders organize or create local governments. Lawmakers, for one, should consider if the new entity would be able to comply with existing laws.
“What is the scale in which a health center would be more efficient in providing services? Will the new municipality be able to provide the basic health services? If you need a doctor where would he be coming from? Baka naman sa kabilang syudad pa," he said.
Creating a new efficient local government entails a new organizational structure, new positions, physical infrastructure like municipal halls and health centers. “Consequently, this means a bigger budget," Ilago noted.
Ironically, the supposed bid to improve governance would result in a heavier bureaucracy at a time of a financial crunch.
The prevailing frenzy to create new LGUs in fact goes against the current norm. Ilago said the trend in other countries like Japan is to rationalize the number of LGUs. “Other countries, in response to fiscal pressure, reduce the number of local governments to rationalize the scale of provision of services. So mukhang backward tayo," he said. “Offhand, dito, you create LGUs because you need to create additional positions."
New posts, old faces
In the end, it’s all about creating new turfs to enhance the influence of the leaders.
An ARMM insider said the province of Shariff Kabunsuan was sliced off Maguindanao “to ease the headache" of Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan. “The dominant family in the areas that eventually comprised Shariff Ampatuan is not allied with the Ampatuans. The solution was to have their own territory in which they can govern," the source said.
The source added that the ARMM Legislative Assembly churned out the laws creating the new municipalities to minimize political rivalry among the clans. “Ang magiging mayor ng mga yan, kamag-anak ng dominant clan," he said.
A look at the partial official list of candidates in Maguindanao shows that at least 16 candidates are running unopposed. They include the Ampatuans -- former Rep. Simeon Ampatuan Datumanong for the First District, reelectionist Gov. Andal Ampatuan and Sajid Islam Ampatuan for vice governor. Two other Ampatuans are running unopposed.
Some of the new towns were in fact named after the dominant clan in their area. Running unopposed in Mangudadatu town are Freddie Mangudadatu for mayor and Sabduliah Mangudadatu for vice mayor. In Datu Anggal Midtimbang town, the lone candidates for mayor and vice mayor are Nathaniel and Ebrahim, both surnamed Midtimbang. The lone candidates for mayor and vice mayor in the mother municipality, Talayan, are also Midtimbangs.
In the newly created Dinagat Islands, province-hood gave the ruling Ecleos a chance to further entrench themselves into power. But the Ecleos are not alone.
As congressman, George Hofer filed the bill creating the province of Zamboanga Sibugay. Hofer lobbied for its approval in the House of Representatives and the Senate. President Joseph Estrada approved it in November 2000.
The following year after its approval, Hofer ran and won as the first elected governor of the province and is now seeking his third and last term this May. His wife Dulce, former mayor of Titay town in Zamboanga Sibugay, is now running for representative of the province’s Second District.
The province of Compostela Valley, created in 1998, was pushed by then Davao del Norte First District Rep. Rogelio Sarmiento. That same election year, Sarmiento represented the First District of ComVal. The Sarmientos also tried to clinch the gubernatorial post in the first-ever local elections in 1998 but failed to get enough votes against Jose Caballero, who is now serving his final term.
Caballero is now fielding his daughter, Kristine Mae, as replacement while he is running as Second District representative.
New LGUs and legislative districts thus open up new avenues for the seasoned, shrewd politician.
Eduardo Roquero is the last mayor of San Jose del Monte when it was still a municipality of Bulacan. The town became a city in 2000; its congressional district was separated from the province’s Fourth District in 2003. Roquero became the first congressman of the Lone District in 2004.
The incumbent city mayor himself, Angelito Sarmiento, was the one who pushed city-hood when he was still congressman of the province’s Fourth District.
With the establishment of two legislative districts in Parañaque City in December 2003, seasoned politician Roilo Golez was back in the political scene. Golez finished three terms as congressman of the defunct Lone District of Parañaque City from 1992 to 2001.
Rep. Victor Sumulong is the principal author of RA 9232 which divided Antipolo City into two congressional districts in 2003. In the local elections the following year, Sumulong ran and won in the Second District.
Extended terms?
Unlike the creation of local government units which should be ratified in a plebiscite, reapportioning of legislative districts throughout the country is a right of Congress to ensure equal representation.
Article 6, Section 5(4) of the 1987 Constitution mandates Congress to make a reapportionment of legislative districts within three years following the return of every census.
But a conflict of interest situation looms when the representative who advanced the reapportionment succeeds and, come election time, seeks office in the newly created district.
With a shrunken, different constituency, the congressmen may be entitled to a new set of term.
Election lawyers offer contrasting opinions on this in the absence of jurisprudence. But most of those interviewed believe that a new constituency means a new office and, consequently, a new set of term.
Three incumbent district representatives are the principal authors of laws that created new legislative districts in their areas.
Surigao del Norte First District Rep. Glenda Ecleo is the force behind the creation of the province of Dinagat Island and its lone district. Ecleo, who is a second-termer, now seeks the Dinagat Island congressional post.
Zamboanga Sibugay Lone District Rep. Belma Cabilao, also a second-termer, is the principal author of the law dividing the province into two legislative districts. Based on the list of candidates for the May elections, she is running in the First District.
Marikina City Lone District Rep. Del de Guzman, another second-termer, runs in the new Second District of the city. He is the principal author of the law reapportioning Marikina City into two legislative districts.
Despite the change in constituency, de Guzman said he is seeking his last term. “The Constitution bars me from seeking another term," he said in a phone interview.
Like de Guzman, Antipolo City Rep. Victor Sumulong counted his first term as congressman of the recently apportioned Second District as his last.
Pork and IRA
The officials of these new local governments will deal with millions of pesos in discretionary funds.
The representative of a new legislative district will automatically get his share of the pork barrel.
A congressman and a party-list representative get P70 million a year or P210 million in a three-year term. For eight new district congressmen, this means an additional P560 million a year of discretionary funds.
This is on top of a basic monthly pay of P35,000 month, a minimum of P50,000 monthly allowance and other allowances such as the P200,000 Christmas allowance and another P200,000 allowance at the end of the sessions, among others.
Rep. Herminio Teves of Negros Oriental’s Third District told reporters recently his total allowance for 2006 was P1.1 million which he declared as additional income from Congress.
The new provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays are given their share of the Internal Revenue Allotment, the local governments’ share from national taxes collected.
IRA is also discretionary to the LGU. The law mandates local governments to allocate a 20-percent development fund out of their IRA share for programs and projects that will contribute to a better standard of living of the constituents.
Unlike the pork barrel which is multiplied for every representative, the IRA is divided among the LGUs.
The IRA increases over the years, from P151.6 billion in 2005, P166.5 billion in 2006 and a proposed P183.9 billion this year.
In 2004, the IRA for provinces ranged from P116 million for Batanes to almost P922 million for Pangasinan. Santa Rosa City in Laguna received 95 million while Quezon City got P1.5 billion. For municipalities, San Jose in Romblon got the smallest amount at close to P4.5 million while Taguig got the most at more than P231 million.
In 2004, 62 of the 79 provinces are highly dependent on IRA (more than 80 percent of total financial resources). Bulk of the IRA is consumed by the local government machinery – salaries and other personnel costs, office maintenance and other operating expenditures and office capital outlay.
Battle for IRA
Local government experts said creating new local governments is actually an attempt to get a share of the IRA pie.
“You convert municipalities into cities because that would entitle them to a higher IRA share. Pero hindi naman nababawasan ang number of municipalities because new ones are created," NCPAG’s Ilago said.
The League of Cities has urged President Arroyo to veto the bills approved by the 13th Congress elevating certain municipalities into cities that allegedly fell short of the income requirement. The city mayors are opposing the creation of more cities because it will diminish their share of the IRA.
“With these creation and conversion of local governments, the pie will be thinly spread," said Carmencita Delantar, director for regional operations and coordination service of the Department of Budget and Management.
Delantar said sharing out IRA to poor areas that have been converted into municipalities or cities goes against the intent of the Local Government Code. The Code states that LGUs should be reliant but not entirely dependent on IRA.
“What we want to initiate is the matter of creation should not just be by creating (LGUs) to get more IRA. Dapat it is because they should really be economically viable, not the other way around," Delantar said.
Requirements ignored
Congress has been granting exemptions in passing bills creating or converting LGUs.
Under the Local Government Code, a municipality may be created if it has an average annual income of at least P2.5 million for the last two consecutive years, a population of at least 25,000 and land area of at least 50 square kilometers.
A municipality or a cluster of barangays may be converted into a component city if it has a locally generated average annual income of at least P100 million for the last two consecutive years and if it has either at least 100 square kilometers of contiguous territory or a population of not less than 150,000.
A province may be created if it has an average annual income of not less than P20 million and if it has either a contiguous territory of at least 2,000 square kilometers or a population of not less than 250,000.
Data from the Department of Finance’s Bureau of Local Government Finance showed that 66 – or more than half -- of the country’s existing 116 cities earn below the P100-million locally generated average annual income required to create a city. Twenty-six of these cities were created in 2000 and 2001. (See Table 8. Recently created cities earning below P100 million)
The ARMM Legislative Assembly appears to have adopted a different set of criteria in creating new municipalities out of poor towns. (See Table 9. Newly created municipalities and the income class of their mother municipalities)
What would become of these new LGUs? Local government experts are glum.
“Sana, hinay-hinay muna sa paggawa ng bagong LGU," Ilago said.
--With reports from Richelle Joyce Figueroa, Brenda Barrientos and Allan Vallarta
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