MMC: Nat’l gov’t must get LGU approval before project implementations

The Metro Manila Council on Tuesday passed a resolution mandating national agencies to coordinate with local government units (LGUs) before planning any project in Metro Manila.

During the joint MMC and Regional Development Council meeting with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the MMC backed President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.’s decision to reinstate coordination between local and national governments on infrastructure and other projects.

This move came amid various investigations into “ghost projects” led by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) nationwide.

“Hindi lamang ito limited sa flood control projects ngunit anupang klaseng infrastructure projects at hindi lamang limited to DPWH, lahat ng national agencies. Kung anumang mga infrastructure projects ang gusto nilang ipatupad sa aming mga lungsod, dapat po sila ay makipagugnayan sa amin at mayroon kaming approval sa mga proyektong ito,” said MMC president and San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora.

(This is not just limited to flood control projects, but to any other kind of infrastructure projects and not just limited to the DPWH, but to all national agencies. Whatever infrastructure projects they wish to implement in our cities, they must coordinate with us and we must approve these projects first.)

“Sana sa planning stage palang, makonsulta na kami para hindi nasasayang ang mga projects ng national [government] dahil ito talaga ang kailangan namin sa local [level]… Mag-coordinate sana ang national at local [governments] para mas maging tama po ang magiging proyekto sa pangangailangan ng mamamayan natin sa ating mga cities,” added Pasay City Mayor Imelda Calixto-Rubiano.

(Hopefully, they would be able to consult us at the planning stage so that the national [government] projects will not go to waste, because this is what we really need in the local [level]… I hope the national and local [government] will coordinate so that the projects would be a better fit for the needs of our citizens in our cities.)

Zamora added that with the new resolution, mayors would now have accountability over projects being implemented within their cities.

MMC also suggested for DPWH to synchronize their flood control projects with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to avoid duplicate or unnecessary projects.

They also noted the need for permits before implementing any project.

“Of course, we will not accept any project na alam nating substandard, and we will not accept any project na alam nating non-existent o tinatawag nating ghost project, (that we know is non-existent or what we call a ghost project)” Zamora said.

Policy gaps

As MMC president, Zamora said that his fellow mayors have reported a lack of coordination between local and national governments.

Malabon Mayor Jeannie Sandoval said that her city often experienced sudden projects that messed up local traffic.

“Ever since, walang coordination ang local at tiyaka national [government]. Minsan nagkakavertical at tiyaka horizontal projects. Nagkakalintik-lintik yung traffic dahil walang traffic plan, bigla nalang gagawin [at] susulpot,” she shared.

(Ever since, there has been no coordination between the local and the national [government]. Sometimes, there are vertical and horizontal projects. The traffic gets messed up because there’s no traffic plan, they just come in [and] do it.)

Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon also said that there was a policy gap in the coordination, which made a leeway for such issues.

“From my experience, there’s never been a policy compelling or requiring the coordination at wala rin namang policy na wag magcoordinate… It’s a policy gap. It’s been happening ng mahabang panahon, and in certain areas nagpro-proliferate yung mga ganun dahil di magkakasundo yung mga public officials,” he said.

(From my experience, there’s never been a policy compelling or requiring the coordination and there’s also no policy that says not to coordinate… It’s a policy gap. It’s been happening for the longest time, and in certain areas it proliferates because the public officials do’t agree with each other.)

Zammora said that the new ordinance that would require LGUs to accept and sort through projects before implementation will ensure that corruption will not occur.

“Yung requirement na mayroong acceptance ng LGUs, malaking bagay yan kasi we will now become part of accountability,” he said.

(The requirement for LGUS to accept, it’s already a big deal because we we will now become part of accountability.)

Earlier, Marcos announced that he will be reinstating the “acceptance” process of local government units before national government projects can be noted as completed.

He noted that it was “one of the best safeguards” the government had regarding government projects. — BM, GMA Integrated News