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President Arroyo has ordered the release of
P12,576,938,000 to local government units for the
internal revenue allotment (IRA) difference caused by
the reenactment of the 2001 and 2004 national budgets.
The
President authorized the fund release through Executive
Order (EO) 723, where she said the amount “can be
released without disrupting the fiscal and deficit
targets of the country and, thereby, maintain
macroeconomic stability.”
The
President ordered the departments of Finance, Budget and
Management, and Interior and Local Government to ensure
that the local governments get their respective shares
either through a seven-year installment basis from
fiscal years 2009 to 2015, or through the IRA
Monetization Program (IMP).
The IMP
will give the local governments the option to collect in
advance from trustee banks their respective shares from
the P12.6 billion IRA differential at a discounted
value, net of interest and other charges.
Eastern
Samar Gov. Benjamin Evardone said in a news briefing in
Malacañang that the Land Bank of the
Philippines
and the Development Bank of the Philippines have
committed to participate in the IMP.
Evardone
said local government-beneficiaries of the fund release
have pledged to spend 50 percent of their allotment for
food production purposes, which is why they hope the
funds would be released in time for planting during the
wet season, so that preparations can be made in terms of
purchasing fertilizers, certified seeds and equipment
for post-harvest facilities.
He said
the fund release might have been spurred by government
efforts to avert a possible food crisis in the country.
He said
new provinces, cities and towns that were not yet
created during the concerned period would not get a
share of the P12.6 billion, as EO 723 specifically tasks
the DBM to exclude from the computation of each local
government’s share, those that have been either
converted or created after fiscal years 2001 and 2004.
Under EO
723, the DOF shall provide the confirmation letter of
the national government to acknowledge that the P12.6
billion constitutes an obligation of the Republic of the
Philippines; and favorably endorse to the Bangko Sentral
and other agencies the application to secure the
necessary financial feature for the investment
certificates that may be issued to improve the net
proceeds to the beneficiaries.
The DOF
will also open the necessary special trust with the
trustee banks and make available Bureau of Treasury
facilities, including the Registry of Scripless
Securities, the Automated Debt Auction Processing
System, and other facilities that may be required and
necessary for the auctioning process and the IMP.
The DILG
shall help local governments participating in the IMP. |
