The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) have signed a joint memorandum circular stating the guidelines for the purchase of multi-cabs and/or multipurpose vehicles, as well as the installation of video surveillance.
The joint memorandum circular was released on Monday after President Duterte placed under conditional implementation the use of Local Government Support Fund-Financial Assistance (LGSF-FA) to local government units (LGUs) for the said purpose.
Under the 2019 General Appropriations Act (GAA), an amount of P8.75 billion shall be used for financial assistance to LGUs to support various priority programs and projects, which include the purchase of multi-cabs and or multipurpose vehicles, as well as the purchase and installation of video surveillance.
The President’s veto message explained that this was done to ensure that the fund shall be used only for priority development programs and projects for LGUs which comply with the requirements provided in the guidelines to be issued jointly by the DBM and the DILG.
Based on Joint Memorandum Circular 2 signed by Acting Budget Secretary Wendel E. Avisado and Interior Secretary Eduardo M. Año, local government units who failed to meet the minimum percentage of physical completion, or delivery of the programs and projects, under the previously received LGSF-FA to LGUs “shall be a ground to deny the request of the LGU.”
Moreover, infrastructure programs and projects in line with the government’s “Build, Build, Build” program shall be given priority in the allocation and utilization of the LGSF-FA.
Further, conflict-affected LGUs shall also be given priority, pursuant to Executive Order 70 dated December 4, 2018.
The LGSF-FA shall be released directly by the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) to the beneficiary LGUs, through authorized government servicing banks, consistent with the purposes indicated in the corresponding special allotment release order and advice of notice of cash allocation issued to be released by the DBM to the BTr.
Funds which remain unutilized as of December 31, 2020, shall be reverted to the National Treasury by the recipient LGUs. However, if at any point before the said date, the LGU determines that the funds cannot be implemented for any reason or when the same has been funded from other sources, the amount received by the same LGU from the LGSF-FA to LGUs shall be immediately reverted to the National Treasury.