DILG seeks amendments to ‘already defective’ Local Gov’t Code

MANILA: The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is pushing for amendments to the "already defective" Republic Act (RA) 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991. This is to address problems and challenges encountered by local government units (LGUs) in the implementation of projects and delivery of services, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said in a pre-SONA (State of the Nation Address) special over state-run People's Television Network. "Ang lahat ng barangay road, dapat ang gumastos barangay, 'yun ang nasa Local Government Code. Ang lahat ng eskwelahan ay pananagutan ng mga lungsod at munisipyo, sila ang magpapagawa. (All barangay roads must be funded by barangays. That is stated in the Local Government Code. Cities and municipalities are responsible for schools in their areas, they would fund its construction)," Abalos said, noting that some areas, especially 5th and 6th class municipalities, do not have to capability to fund these projects. Abalos said President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., a former governor of Ilocos Norte, directed all concerned agencies to come up with solutions to these problems. The DILG chief said among the amendments to the more than three-decade-old law they have recommended is that the national government would fund construction projects of educational facilities. "Mga solid waste management (problems), mga tapunan ng basura, probinsya ba ito, munisipyo ba ito. Ang problema, saan mo itatapon (We also included measures to address solid waste management problems. Would these be under the provincial or municipal government? Now the problem is where do you dump these?)," Abalos said. Abalos added that they are working with the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) to address these concerns linked to the "proper" devolution of functions from the national government to the LGUs. "'Yung ospital, nakalagay dyan (Local Government Code) lahat ng (As for hospitals, the Local Government Code states that all) provinces must have a tertiary hospital per o di lahat mayaman, may mga probinsya na di kaya, kaya eto sinabi namin, baka pwede ang national na rin (but not all provinces are rich, some provinces cannot afford it, so we said, maybe the national government can also shoulder this)," he added. Abalos also expressed hope that lawmakers would support these amendments to the law. Boosting infants' nutrition Abalos, meanwhile, said the DILG has ordered LGUs to include in their annual investment plans the nutrition programs for infants in their first 1,000 days to prevent malnutrition and stunting. The DILG chief said LGUs must prioritize the nutrition of pregnant and lactating women and newborn children under two years of age, especially those residing in disaster-prone and geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas. He further committed to empowering LGUs to integrate maternal, neonatal, and child health and nutrition programs into Local Nutrition Action Plans to foster policies that champion local investments in nutrition. "The DSWD (Department o f Social Welfare and Development), DOH (Department of Health), and DILG are jointly working on this program. We pinpoint pregnant women, on the average we have 12 or 13 per barangay. For DSWD, we have the food stamp program, then for the DOH, the provision of vitamins, then once the child has been born, you also take care of the mother who would breastfeed. Barangay health workers would monitor their nutrition to ensure that they eat healthy food and the children are vaccinated,' he said in Filipino. Under Abalos' term as mayor, Mandaluyong City bagged the Nutrition Honor Award, the highest accolade conferred by the National Nutrition Council to an LGU. Source: Philippines News Agency