20% development fund for LGUs has legal basis - DILG

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

20% development fund for LGUs has legal basis - DILG

by R.G. Cadavos

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, June 8 (PIA) –- The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Monday said that the agency's memorandum for the local government units' use of the 20% development fund has legal basis and is part of its function of general supervision over local government units.

DILG-Southern Leyte Information designate Loren Abrau-Aniciete quoted DILG Undersecretary Austere A. Panadero, saying that the "department's latest memo on said subject is just a reiteration of a similar directive issued jointly, with minor amendments, by the DILG and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in 2005.

Aniciete bared that Local Government Code provided that each LGU should appropriate in its annual budget no less tha 20% of its internal revenue allotment (IRA), "specifically for development projects," she said in a press release sent to the Philippine Information Agency-Maasin.

"Panadero clarified that the joint DILG-DBM memo is meant to inform and enlighten the public and local officials on the proper use of their 20 percent development funds derived from their IRA. We issued the directive in response to reports we received from the Commission on Audit on the misuse of the 20 percent development funds for LGUs," Aniciete cited the DILG Undersecretary.

It was learned that the latest DILG-DBM joint memo, gave meaning to the phrase “development projects” in Section 28 of the LG Code which refer to projects related to social, economic, environmental development, and other related projects covered under it.

These development projects include the following: construction or rehabilitation of evacuation centers, portable water supply system, evacuation centers local roads or bridges, sanitary landfills, material recovery facility and public facilities such as multi-purpose halls; purchase or repair of area-wide calamity-related alarm or warning system and appropriate alarming-related rescue operations equipment; and purchase and development of land for relocation of victims of calamities, among others.

The guidelines also provided items that are not related to or not connected with the implementation of development projects and should not be paid out of the 20% IRA such as, such as cash gifts, bonuses, medical assistance, food allowance, uniform meetings, supplies, communication, water and light, petroleum products, and the like, salaries, traveling expenses, seminar and conference fees, construction and repair of administrative offices, purchase of office furniture and equipment and maintenance and repair of motor vehicles. (eopt/RGC/PIA-Soleyte)

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