NEWLY elected local officials looking to spend more for various public services and projects during their term may have to consider some belt-tightening measures with the adoption of the 2016 master list of land areas.
Undersecretary Adoracion M. Navarro of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Regional Development Office (RDO) said the National Land Use Committee (NLUC) has instructed concerned agencies to adopt the 2016 master list of land areas based on the latest cadastral survey of the Land Management Bureau (LMB).
Based on the 2015 cadastral survey, the land area of the Philippines became significantly smaller than previously estimated. This, Navarro said, will impact not only on the size of the LGUs but also on the internal revenue allotment (IRA) they receive from the national government.
“[Nung] 2015 natapos yung cadastral survey, 2016 may master-list [na] and now its 2019, hindi pa din siya officially adopted so kung susundin ko yung recommendation ng NLUC member, kasi yun ang naging agreement nila in the technical working group, kung susundin yung kanilang recommendation na ’yun, baka matagal na naman [The cadastral survey was completed in 2015 and a master list (of land areas) was created in 2016 but this has not yet been officially adopted. If I follow the recommendation of the NLUC member, since this was their agreement in the technical working group, if their recommendation is followed, we may have to wait longer to have a master list of land areas],” Navarro said in an interview with the BusinessMirror.
Navarro said it’s not only the delay in the adoption of the master list that is crucial, but also the need for the national government to prepare for the implementation of the Supreme Court’s decision on the Mandanas petition in 2022.
In its July 3, 2018, decision, the Court increased the IRA of LGUs to include the tax collection of other agencies aside from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) as basis for the computation.
National govt concerns
However, concerns on the implementation of the decision were raised by the national government in a motion for reconsideration filed soon after the SC decision was released.
In April this year, the Supreme Court maintained its decision declaring that the IRA share of all LGUs be based on the collections of all national taxes, and not only from national internal revenue taxes collected by the government. The SC also moved to implement the new computations in 2022.
With this delay, Navarro said the national government heaved a sigh of relief given that the immediate implementation of the decision could negatively affect the government’s fiscal position, specifically the deficit target.
This, she said, is behind the NLUC decision to adopt the 2016 master list of land areas. “So kaya I said I will get to the bottom of this. Pinapa-submit ko sila ng information so that the Neda can analyze, ano ’yung kulang bakit hindi siya officially ma-adopt [This is why I said I will get to the bottom of this. I am asking them to submit information so that the Neda can analyze why it has not been officially adopted],” Navarro said.
Navarro earlier told the BusinessMirror that 71 percent of cities and municipalities are contesting their land areas, even after a nationwide cadastral survey conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Land Management Bureau (LMB).
After the LMB’s cadastral survey, however, Navarro said 1,163 of the 1,634 cities and municipalities nationwide are contesting the survey results. She said these LGUs are contesting the results at the LMB.
She added that there is a need to resolve these concerns before 2022, given the Supreme Court’s final decision granting the petition of Batangas Gov. Hermilando I. Mandanas to automatically release the IRA of LGUs. Navarro explained that a land area impacts LGUs significantly, given that it helps determine the level of their IRA and revenue collections, as well as shapes its politics, particularly during elections.