Nais ni Senator Leila de Lima na dagdagan ang budget ng local government units (LGUs) sa pamamagitan ng pag-realign ng Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) sa bahagi ng Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) upang mabawasan ang pondo nito.
Sa kanyang Senate Bill No. 1897, isinusulong ng senador na amyendahan ang Article 10 ng Republic Act No. 7924, (An Act Creating the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Defining Its Powers And Functions, Providing Funding Therefor And For Other Purposes).
“The MMDA, a non-LGU, seems to have been receiving its share of the IRA, which should be reserved exclusively for the LGUs by virtue of the devolution under the Constitution. This is likewise clear in the Local Government Code granting the MMDA with an IRA diminishes the constitutionally guaranteed right of LGUs of their just share of national taxes, and undermines the principles of equity and local autonomy espoused by political decentralization and enshrined in the 1987 Constitution,” ani de lima.
Sa 1987 Constitution aniya, ang LGU ang may kapangyarihan maghanap ng pondo sa pamamagian ng local taxes, bayarin at iba pa gayunman, pinali-liquidate naman sila kapag IRA na ang pag-uusapan mula sa national government.
Agusan del Sur, nilindol ng magnitude 5.3
Tinukoy ni De lima ang desisyon ng Supreme Court, Mandanas v. Executive Secretary Ochoa, na hindi pinapaboran ng national government ang LGU sa pagkuha franchise fees and customs duties, kung saan nanalo si Mandanas.
-Leonel Abasola
