Gatchalian seeks additional IRA for LGUs, urges enforcement of CBMS

Senator Win Gatchalian on Saturday urged the national government to grant additional internal revenue allotment shares to local government units remaining under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) until May 15 due to the coronavirus disease 2019 threat.

In a statement, Gatchalian also said that Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) ACT should be enforced to speed up the delivery and monitoring of emergency cash aid for the poor.

So far into the ECQ, Gatchalian pointed out, most of the LGUS have already run out of funds for the basic needs of their constituents.

According to him, a new round of Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) grant could help LGUs provide continued assistance to communities, considering the extension of the ECQ in some areas.

While he cited the the earlier approval of the "Bayanihan Grant to Cities and Municipalities" which is equivalent to one month of LGU’s IRA totaling P30.824 billion, this was not enough anymore. 

He also pointed out that businesses at this time have not renewed their permits and that real property taxes, where half of the local government’s revenue come from, remain uncollected.

“Kalahati ng kita nila hindi pa pumapasok, ibig sabihin wala nang cash ang ating mga local governments. The LGUs have exhausted every single centavo of their cash in the first 45 days of the ECQ which means that the extension until May 15 is a big problem to a lot of them."

Moreover, Gatchalian, who is the Senate Vice Chairman on Economic Affairs, also urged anew the national government to expedite the implementation of the Social Amelioration Program (SAP), noting that as of April 30 only 53% or half of the targeted families for the program, have been served.

He said, the Department of the Interior and Local government has originally given LGUs a deadline of until April 30 to distribute the subsidy to their constituents. The deadline has been extended for another week as requested by some LGUs.

Regarding the CBMS, or an organized technology-based system of collecting, processing and validating necessary disaggregated data that may be used for planning, budgeting and implementation of government programs, he said this should be activated for reliable data that would be the basis in targeting beneficiary households.

He noted that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has cited miscommunication and confusion with the LGUs on the beneficiaries’ data as one of the challenges for the slower-than-expected distribution of social amelioration program. —LBG, GMA News