An education advocacy group urged local government units to “set aside a greater amount for education” for 2022, as the windfall from the Mandanas ruling on the internal revenue allotment kicks in.
“Our LGUs will play a crucial role in addressing our education crisis. With the Mandanas ruling finally taking effect next year, they will be fully empowered to fulfill this role,” said Marie Paz T. Abante, president of the Philippine Educators Alliance for Community Empowerment (PEACE) Party-list.
Abante said that “targeted investments” by LGUs could go a long way towards addressing the education crisis.
LGUs are expected to receive an estimated P225.3 billion next year.
This was after the Supreme Court ruled in April 2019 that the LGU’s IRAs must not be taken only from the Bureau of Internal Revenue collections, but also from all national taxes collected by other government agencies such as the Bureau of Customs.
Abante said that “targeted investments” by LGUs could go a long way towards addressing the education crisis.
Support programs to help families feed children, augmentation of existing conditional cash aid, and provision of learning devices and materials are among the immediate concerns that LGUs could address, she added.
Abante also called on the Department of Education to coordinate with LGUs on crafting tailor-fitted programs that they could implement with the additional funding.
“Iba-iba ang problemang dinaranas ng mga LGU natin, kaya hindi pwedeng one-size-fits-all ang programa. Sana ngayon pa lang ay pinagpaplanuhan na ito ng DepEd kasama ng mga LGU,” Abante said.
