By Liza Agoot with reports from Aiza Caramto, OJT/Philippine News Agency
BAGUIO CITY – Senator Panfilo Lacson on Friday said the proper implementation of the Budget Reform Advocacy for Village Employment (BRAVE) Act of 2016 will ensure the equitable distribution of funds for national and local government units and will create development opportunities.
It will also improve the government’s delivery of basic services through the barangays, the senator said.
In a message during the information dissemination campaign event on Friday at the Saint Vincent gymnasium here, Lacson told the barangay officials in Baguio that the law will promote village empowerment as local government units (LGUs) know best the problems of the communities on the ground.
He said allowing the village officials to identify where to be use their funds will be effective in attaining inclusive growth.
“As of April 3, 2019 there are 10 government agencies who got the highest unused appropriations. These are Department of Education, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of National Defense, Congress, Autonomus Region for Muslim Mindanao, Department of Health, Department of Transportation, Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior and Local Government and Department of Social Welfare and Development,” Lacson said.
He said LGUs must be informed about the sources of funds for their local development plans to avoid poor planning in the budget preparation that often leads to lump sums, realignments, insertions and unused appropriations.
Lacson said the government loans totaling PHP7.45 trillion -66 percent of which comes from domestic source while the remaining 34 percent comes from foreign lending institutions, should be utilized properly.
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