Metro mayors to shoot down proposal on IRA suspension

Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao Trinidad, spokesperson of the Metro Mayor’s Council (MMC), yesterday said mayors would shoot down the proposal of the Arroyo administration to suspend their Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).

In a telephone interview, Wenceslao said no mayor, whether in Metro Manila or the provinces, would support the national government’s fiscal saving measure.

Trinidad said the MMC would likely get the consensus of mayors in the 14 cities and three municipalities of the metropolis on Thursday , when the council meets at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

"I object to the proposal because it is illegal, unconstitutional and it does not work for the autonomy of the local government units. In fact, it should be the other way around. Dapat ibigay nila sa amin ito so we can handle it better," said the Pasay mayor.

Trinidad said the 18-month suggested period of suspension was too long and would affect the operations of the local governments.

He added that the local chief executives have already planned their expenditures not only for year 2004, but up to 2005.

"We have already made specific budget allocations up to next year," he said.

Pasay City, he noted, utilizes its share of the IRA to pay for the salaries of employees, including teachers of public schools.

The funds are also used for implementing infrastructure projects, running day-care center operations, and assisting public hospitals.

Instead of withholding the IRA, Malacañang could raise the needed funds by enforcing effective collection of taxes, he said.

Other Pasay City officials suggested senators and members of the House of Representatives sacrifice their countrywide development funds (CDF).

Meanwhile, Manila Mayor Lito Atienza said reduction of the IRA of local government units was the wrong solution to the fiscal crisis.

"We could be creating a bigger problem than the one we intend to solve because we are practically killing the goose that lays the golden egg," Atienza said.

He explained that local government units depend on the IRA for their development, and reducing it would definitely slow down or completely halt local development efforts, which should have negative impact on the economic growth.

Under the Local Government Code of 1991, 20 percent of IRA of the local government units should be allocated for development projects.

If the IRA of LGUs are reduced, Atienza warned that many municipalities, especially the third to fifth class, might be forced to shut down since their daily operations are funded mostly from their IRA.

He said the plan to reduce IRA would have a much worse effect on barangays, which are solely relying on the allotment.

This would lead to paralysis at the local level. No chief executive would agree to the reduction of IRA, noted Atienza, concurrent president of the Metro Manila Mayors League.

Third to fifth class towns would be greatly affected by the IRA reduction worse than highly urbanized city like Manila, which has P100 million a month or about P1 billion a year.

Instead, Atienza proposed the total scrapping of the pork barrel fund for congressmen, which the mayor described as wasteful and graft-prone expenditures.

He also noted that the government must undertake measures that would encourage investments such as improving the peace and order situation in the country. — With Cecille Suerte Felipe