President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. has tasked national government agencies to submit a list of functions and services that should be devolved to the local government units (LGUs), according to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Monday, Dec. 25.
In a press statement posted on its official website, PCO reported that Marcos cited in a meeting “the need to first define and determine the priority core functions and services that should be devolved to the LGUs.”
PCO said the task of listing was particularly handed down to the interior and local government department and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines.
“[A] list of basic functions and services that the LGUs should be performing based on their Devolution Transition Plans, and of the national government,” the communications office said.
The interior and local government department have until January 2024 to report the list of functions and services to the President.
Alongside, Marcos ordered the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to “conduct a sensitivity analysis on the most that the government can gain from its investments, which include the functions and services to be performed by the LGUs.”
“The NEDA is also tasked to recommend ways to better implement a phased-in devolution, including its timeline based on LGU capacity, which is in addition to the ongoing study on the determinants of functions and services that should performed by the NG and devolved to LGUs,” the PCO added.
NEDA must submit the complete study to the Office of the President by the end of February 2024.
The devolution in LGUs is in accordance with Executive Order (EO) No. 138 or the Full Devolution of Certain Functions of the Executive Branch to Local Governments, Creation of a Committee on Devolution, and For Other Purposes which was signed by former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte in 2021.
EO No. 138 stated that the devolution aims to strengthen the capacities and capabilities of the local government units.
