The League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) described the Mandanas-Garcia ruling as a 'game-changer' for local government units (LGUs).
LCP executive director Ma. Veronica Hitosis said on Wednesday, May 10, that the increased funds brought by the ruling raised the expectations on the services, and programs provided by LGUs.
Hitosis assured the public that cities and municipalities stepped up to these expectations but LGUs need time in order to adjust to the new responsibilities brought by the 2018 ruling of the Supreme Court.
"Alam naman natin sa bawat pagbabago, meron mga curing point iyan. You have to adjust to the changes." Hitosis said.
"It is a big boost for local government units, especially for cities. Like any other game-changing happenings in our lives, or in cities, the first part is really very hard. Ito yung pinag-dadaanan natin ngayon," she added.
In order to shorten the period for some LGUs to learn their new functions, Hitosis revealed that highly-urbanized cities extend a helping hand to other cities and municipalities.
She said that LCP serves as a venue for LGUs to share their best practices, and the 'pitfalls' that they faced when implementing certain programs.
"Yung mga hindi nag-work doon sa mga highly-urbanized, kasi sila minsan yung nauuna sa pag-implement ng mga program, natuturuan na nila yung mga small cities," Hitosis said
"Ini-encourage natin yung pag-replicate ng mga program in a shortcut way, in a way na maiintindihan ng mga city mayors kahit nasaan silang process ng pag-implement ng program," she added.
Under the Mandanas-Garcia ruling, the National Tax Allotment, also known as the Internal Revenue Allotment, of LGUs should come from all national taxes and not just national internal revenue taxes collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
In response to the additional funds, then-President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order No. 138 which directs the full devolution of certain functions provided by national government agencies to LGUs.
