Tarlac dads urge pals nationwide to oppose cut in IRA

TARLAC CITY — City officials have urged their colleagues elsewhere in the country to vehemently oppose proposals for Malacañang to reduce the internal revenue allotments (IRAs) of local government units (LGUs) to cushion the budget deficit.

In a resolution, the city council said the suggestion of Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, said to be one of President Arroyo’s economic advisers, will not only be detrimental to LGUs but is also "unconstitutional."

Salceda and a number of congressmen have moved for the House to cut down the IRAs of LGUs as part of the national government’s measures to address the looming budget shortfall.

But city councilor Frank Dayao, who sponsored the resolution against the proposal, said, "If this pushes through, this will be a wanton violation of the provisions of the 1987 Constitution, which promote and uphold genuine local autonomy and decentralization."

This mandate, Dayao said, can be found in Sections 2 and 3, Article X of the Constitution.

The IRA represents a local government’s share of national revenues. By next year, the shares of LGUs are estimated to reach P149 billion.

Dayao said the national government "should not keep back what the Constitution says rightfully belongs to local government units."

He suggested that cost-cutting measures be directed against "known overspending agencies, not the provincial, city and municipal governments that directly deliver services to the people."

According to Dayao, both Malacañang and the House should be aware of the fact that LGUs draw the salaries of day-care workers, casual teachers, and village nurses and doctors from their respective IRAs.

Local infrastructure projects, such as road repairs and the construction of provincial, city, municipal and barangay roads, bridges and irrigation systems, and the maintenance of government-owned hospitals, are being funded out of IRAs.

"Indeed, there is a need to sacrifice to cushion the impact of the budget deficit but it is totally inappropriate to put local governments in financial jeopardy, while everyone knows that there are other agencies whose overspendings are unnecessary burdens to taxpayers," Dayao said.