Amending the Code

SENATOR Aquilino Pimentel Jr. is the acknowledged “Father of Philippine Local Autonomy,” having authored the Local Government Code which was enacted in 1991 in accordance with the 1987 Constitution’s declared State policy to ensure the autonomy of local governments.

The Code is responsible for finally setting in motion the decentralization of power and authority to local governments after unsuccessful attempts in the past that did not go beyond rhetoric and lip service.

The Code is by far “the most radical and far-reaching policy” that addressed this decades-, if not, centuries-old problem of highly centralized governance characterized by so-called “imperial Manila.” It did so primarily by transferring the responsibility for the delivery of basic services to the local government units.

Despite the many local government success stories and outstanding local leaders it has bred in 15 years of its implementation, the Code, Pimentel says, urgently needs to be amended. In this podcast interview, Sen. Pimentel shares his thoughts about the Code’s impact on local autonomy, the powers he thinks that LGUs have not maximized, his own experience of local governance under martial law, and some of the key amendments he is proposing to make the Code more responsive to the needs of the country’s 79 provinces, 118 cities, 1,501 municipalities, and 42,000 barangays.

Listen here:

Length: 00:18:08
File size: 16.6 MB