Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto has assured local government units (LGUs) that the Department of Finance (DOF) will be with them every step of the way to ensure that they rise higher, grow faster, and deliver the fruits of Bagong Pilipinas to their constituencies.
“For the success of every LGU translates into prosperity for the people you serve. Sa inyo po nakasalalay ang pag-angat ng bawat bayan at ang magandang kinabukasan ng bawat Pilipino,” he said at the Bureau of Local Government Finance’s (BLGF) 37th Anniversary on October 9, 2024.
“And it is the job of the DOF, through the BLGF, to help you succeed in your noble mission. It is our duty to assist you build up your financial capacity to provide better services, unleash your full potential, attain fiscal sustainability, and contribute to national growth,” Secretary Recto added.
The Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) is an attached agency of the DOF that provides sound, innovative, and up-to-date local fiscal policies to safeguard local financial viability, enhance revenue and resource mobilization, as well as foster good governance and fiscal transparency of LGUs.
It is also the oversight agency of the DOF on local treasury and assessment.
To commemorate its anniversary, the BLGF recognized the national top-performing provinces, cities, and municipalities for 2022 and 2023.
The performance indicators considered were the following: 1) local source revenues in nominal terms; 2) ratio of local source revenues to total current operating income; 3) year-on-year growth in local source revenues; and 4) total current operating expenditures per capita.
Through the BLGF’s initiatives for the past years, more LGUs outside the National Capital Region (NCR) have now joined the billionaire’s row in terms of locally sourced revenues, nearly doubling to 46 last year from 28 in 2019.
“This is a powerful testament to the improving governance, expanding financial capacity, and growing fiscal independence of our LGUs nationwide. Ibig sabihin rin po nito, mas nagiging inklusibo na ang pag-unlad ng ating ekonomiya, at mas maraming Pilipino mula sa iba’t ibang sulok ng bansa ang nakikinabang sa patuloy na progreso,” Secretary Recto said.
“That is exactly our goal: ang tuluyan nating maiangat ang bawat rehiyon, siyudad, komunidad, at pamilyang Pilipino mula sa kahirapan. Because this is how we will break the cycle of poverty—by empowering every LGU to strengthen their local coffers and drive their own growth in the most effective way possible,” he added.
To accelerate the achievement of this shared goal, the BLGF is rolling out the Local Governance Reform Project (LGRP) to harmonize policy direction and enhance local fiscal management, particularly in the valuation and appraisal of real properties through digitalization.
This will ensure the smooth implementation of the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act (RPVARA), which will establish a just, equitable, and efficient real property valuation system in the country.
With the RPVARA, the government aims to attract more investments and boost local revenues.
A Data Sharing Agreement between relevant government offices and LGUs was signed on the sidelines of the anniversary celebration to develop the Real Property Information System and all other digitalization systems under the LGRP.
The agreement enables more collaborations to build a robust and comprehensive database system, enhancing the ease of doing business and strengthening data-sharing with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to improve tax administration.
The BLGF also launched more projects during the event such as the LGRP Manuals; the Electronic Official Receipt and e-Ledger for the BLGF and LGUs’ treasury and assessment operations; the turnover of LGRP IT equipment for the appraisal and assessment operations of pilot LGUs; and the enhanced academic curriculum in real estate management.
Secretary Recto told LGUs that the BLGF will fast-track the implementation of the projects to strengthen transparency in governance, transform LGUs into digitally powered institutions, and upgrade the competencies of local government treasurers and assessors.
“Asahan po ninyo ang mabilis na pagpapatupad sa mga programang ito para gawing mas klaro, mas simple, at mas moderno ang pamamalakad ng ating gobyerno,” he said.
Joining Secretary Recto were Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan John Uy, BLGF Executive Director Consolacion Q. Agcaoili, chief executives of local governments, local treasurers and assessors, and key stakeholders and development partners.
