President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday announced that his administration is actively working to “rationalize” public auditing rules, aiming to grant local government units (LGUs) greater access to national government funds for community development.
Speaking during the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected national officers of the Provincial Board Members League of the Philippines (PBMLP) in Malacañang, Marcos acknowledged the “valid fear” among local officials regarding potential auditing complications arising from handling national government-funded projects.
“That is a valid fear. Inaayos din natin yan,” Marcos said in his speech.
That is a valid fear. We are fixing that as well.
The President explained that simplifying these regulations would empower local leaders to exercise more autonomy and implement innovative solutions without the looming dread of technical accounting penalties.
“I’m doing my best na irationalize ang mga rules para kung may bagong idea… Mas marami kayong gagawin pero mas marami yung mga initiative ninyo, yung idea ninyo na mas may chance kayo na puwede ninyong iimplement,” he said.
I’m doing my best to rationalize the rules so that if there is a new idea… You will be doing more, but you will have more initiatives, your ideas will have a better chance of being implemented.
He emphasized that fostering stronger synergy between different levels of governance is key to delivering tangible benefits to the public.
“Pagtibayin natin ang cooperation at coordination ng local at ng national at yun ang magpapasynergy na mararamdaman ng tao natin,” he said.
Let us strengthen the cooperation and coordination between the local and national governments, and that is the synergy that our people will feel.
To back this policy shift, the Chief Executive has already devolved several national government responsibilities to LGUs. These include the construction of educational facilities, socio-civic development programs, and the allocation of the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF) for local infrastructure and basic services.
Marcos defended the decision, arguing that local officials are far better equipped to understand the distinct needs of their jurisdictions than centralized agencies.
“In other words, we leave it to the local governments to decide what is best for them… We leave more decisions to the local governments, as many decisions as possible,” Marcos stated. “The lines between the national funds and the local government funds are still there, but for me, it’s not important if the national government funds are administered by local governments because I always believe… na walang mas expert sa isang lugar kung hindi yung mga taga doon.”
…because I always believe that no one is more expert in a locality than the people who live there.
Addressing potential concerns regarding accountability, Marcos expressed firm confidence that the increased financial flow to the local level would be managed responsibly, reminding the newly sworn-in officials of their duties.
“All of these funds will go through sa inyo lahat dadaan ito so tiyakin ninyo na dadaan sa tama, tinyakin ninyo na sa tama magagamit, na it is efficiently used, na walang masyadong wastage at mas mabilisan ang pag gawa,” Marcos reminded them.
All of these funds will go through you, it will all pass through you, so ensure that it goes through the proper channels, ensure that it is used correctly, that it is efficiently used, that there is not much wastage, and that project implementation is faster.
The President concluded by noting that local accountability is inherently maintained by the voters themselves, who act as a natural check against corruption and mismanagement.
“Hindi ako natatakot na maflo-flood control yung mga project dahil kapag ginawa ninyo yun… hindi kayo tatagal, sisitahin kayo ng mga constituents ninyo,” he said. “That was my confidence level.”
I am not afraid that the projects will be corrupted through “flood control” schemes because if you do that… you won’t last long, your constituents will call you out.