DBM identifies projects eligible for LGU support fund

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Thursday identified projects eligible for Local Government Support Fund as it launched a digital portal for local government units’ (LGU) submission requests to access the fund.

In a statement, the DBM said the eligible projects under the Local Government Support Fund-Financial Assistance to LGUs and Support for Capital Outlays and Social Programs (LGSF-FA) in the 2023 national budget are those pertaining to the implementation of agriculture-related programs, projects, and activities (PPAs), digitalization of business processes, implementation of PPAs for disaster response, rehabilitation, and recovery, including procurement or acquisition of disaster equipment and vehicles, and social programs such as assistance to indigent individuals or families.

Pursuant to the Special Provision (SP) of LGSF under the 2023 General Appropriations Act, the amount appropriate for the LGSF-FA includes P1,925,500,000 for financial assistance to LGUs and P7,236,336,000 for support for capital outlays and social programs to LGUs.

The DBM mandated LGUs to submit requests through its Digital Requests Submission for Local Government Support Fund (DRSL) portal “to streamline the process of submission of requests for financial assistance of LGUs for the implementation of their priority programs and projects.”

The Budget Department said the initiative is in line with the government commitment to deliver efficient, transparent and accountable public service.

“With this initiative, sa official DRSL portal lang po magre-receive ng request ang DBM, at tanging mga local chief executive lamang ang bibigyan natin ng access sa portal na ito,” said Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman.

(With this initiative, the DBM will only receive requests through the official DRSL portal and only local chief executives can be granted access to this portal.)

The DBM said the release and utilization of the LGSF-FA to LGUs are governed by Local Budget Circular No. 150 dated March 8, 2023.

The financial assistance to LGUs shall be available for release, obligation, and disbursement until December 31, 2024, it said. — Ted Cordero/RSJ, GMA Integrated News