DILG: Several LGUs have started transitioning to their next administrations

While several local government units were still preparing documents and setting dates for the turnover of administrations after the recent elections, other LGUs had started their changeovers, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III said Tuesday.

“So far, nagmo-monitoring po tayo. Merong mga LGU na nakapagsimula na ng transition sa susunod na administrasyon nila. Yung iba naman, naghahanda pa ng mga dokumento at nag-i-schedule ng turnover,” Densing said at the Laging Handa public briefing.

According to Densing, newly elected local chief executives and other officials would begin their local government work by June 30.

Densing said new administrations would not affect the full devolution of basic services and facilities from the national government to LGUs.

The devolution was the result in the Supreme Court's 2018 Mandanas Ruling which expanded the LGUs' internal revenue allotment share to all national taxes including those collected by the Bureau of Customs.

In 2021, the World Bank said “the government faces a significant risk that the transition process could lead to a large gap in service delivery.”

The WB said a lack of coordination between the national and local government and weak implementation capacity could delay the transition towards increased decentralization.

According to Densing, the LGUs only have to brief the next administrations about the implementation of the devolution. — DVM, GMA News