True to its promise. This is how Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Catalino S. Cuy describes the Department’s performance in supporting the commitments of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte pronounced during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA).
“The DILG has been at the helm of the priority thrusts of the government: the anti-illegal drugs campaign, anti-criminality, and anti-corruption,” says Cuy.
Before the Duterte administration, he said, 11,321 or 26.91 percent of barangays nationwide were “drug affected”.
“With relentless and strategic operations by the police force, illegal drug cartel activities are continuously being disrupted as well as exposed,” he says.
He notes that it is only now in the history of the Philippine National Police (PNP) wherein around 1,308,078 illegal drug personalities personally and voluntarily appeared or surrendered to authorities.
In addition, 3,568 High-Value Targets have surfaced and are under monitoring.
The gains in disrupting illegal drug trade in the country, he said, can be reflected in the decrease of crime volume.
In July 2015 to June 2016, there were 626,567 reported crimes. This decreased to 565,158 in July 2016 to June 2017, alongside the increase in Crime Clearance Efficiency (CCE) Rate and Crime Solution Efficiency (CSE) Rate of PNP.
In support of the police efforts, the DILG is also unyielding in orienting teams under its program called Mamamayang Ayaw Sa Anomalya, Mamamayang Ayaw Sa Iligal na Droga (MASA MASID).
MASA MASID is a barangay-based anti-criminality, anti-corruption, and anti-illegal drugs program which encourages multi-sectoral partnership to intensify the spirit of volunteerism at the community level.
According to the DILG, 18,932 MASA MASID teams in 802 cities and municipalities have already been trained.
The climb to federalism
“The Department is also in the forefront of massive information campaign on federalism,” says Cuy.
More than a million people have participated in numerous DILG federalism advocacy activities such as symposia, orientation, training of trainers, and seminars in various local government units (LGUs) nationwide.
The DILG, together with its key partners in the private and academic sectors, is bringing the advocacy campaign down to barangay level to ensure grassroot appreciation and informed opinion on federalism.
Catalyzing efficient local governance
Alongside the aforementioned tall orders on the DILG, Cuy said that the Department is on top of its game in catalysing excellence in local governance.
As directed by Duterte, the DILG, together with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Information and Communications Technology, shortened the processing time for business permit and licensing system (BPLS) in LGUs from ten to five days to two or one day for new applications.
Meanwhile, renewal now only takes a day or less compared to the duration in previous system where it took a maximum of five days.
Cuy said that as of end of June 2017, 1,386 or 91 percent out of 1,516 cities and municipalities complied with 2016 Standards of Business Permit Application and BPLS Complementary Reform.
Ninety-three percent (93%) or 1,417 of 1,516 cities and municipalities (excluding those in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) have streamlined their BPLS as of end of June 2016.
“Through this, we have made true what the President mandated to ensure competitiveness and promote ease of doing business to enhance local business environment,” he says.
“We are well on our way towards restoring faith and trust in government and towards uplifting the living conditions of the Filipino people,” he adds. | DILG
