Nov 24, 2021 – The DILG MIMAROPA as the lead convener successfully kicked-off the first episode of this year’s Dagyaw, an annual event that aimed to strengthen participatory governance through partnership with several civil society organizations.

Dagyaw 2021 Episode 1 featured “Usapang Debolusyon sa Pagpapalaganap ng Serbisyong Lokal” and “Usapang Bakuna at Herd Immunity sa COVID-19”.

Highlighted in the first leg are the discussion on the implementation of the Executive Order No. 138 and its implications, while the second portion of the event talked about the latest updates and the latest statistics in the vaccination efforts in the Region. 

In his message, DILG MIMAROPA Regional Director Wilhelm Suyko encouraged the full participation of the public in exacting accountability to the public officials by being vigilant in the government’s services and programs.

“Bilang mga responsableng mamamayan, kami ay umaasa na kayo ay magiging katuwang namin sa pamahalaan sa pagsiguro na ang ating buwis ay nagagamit sa tamang pamamaraan sa pamamagitan ng mga programa at serbisyo,” RD Suyko remarked.

Under Executive Order No. 138, the provision of basic services and facilities enshrined in Section 17 of the Republic Act No. 7160 otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991, shall be fully devolved from the national government to the local government units.

Except those functions that shall continue to be shared with the national government, LGUs shall be primarily responsible and accountable for the provision of all basic services and facilities fully assigned to them in accordance with the standards of service delivery to be prescribed by the national government.

During the townhall session, LGOO V Cidney Pamela Bejasa of DILG MIMAROPA emphasized and detailed the status of the creation of Devolution Transition Plans (DTPs) of the LGUs in MIMAROPA. As of November 23, 2021, 89% of Barangays and 25% of Municipalities / Cities have already submitted their DTPs in the portal.

Under the guidelines released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the previously-known Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of the LGUs will be renamed as National Tax Allotment (NTA) to include the just share of LGUs from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) as ruled by the Supreme Court.

Based on the projection by the budget department, an estimate of 959.041 billion pesos will be the total allotment for the LGUs for FY 2022, which will be divided to 43,649 barangays, cities, municipalities, and provinces in the country. This is equivalent to a 37.89% increase compared to the 2021 IRA of the LGUs.

“This transition [Mandanas-Garcia SC ruling] entails more responsibility not only to LGUs but also to the non-government partners in the local development council, other local special bodies, and other groups of network, which is why the Dagyaw Town Hall Meeting help us in the government to inform our citizens of the implications of the full devolution of some basic goods and services”, said DBM Usec. Rolando Toledo.

He also remarked that the use of online platforms to deliver town hall meetings is a way of continued grassroot level conversation with the people amid the pandemic threat and a proof that the pandemic will not hamper the government’s duties to be of service to the citizens.

Meanwhile, the second portion of the event focused on the vaccination situation in MIMAROPA Region and its status in attaining herd immunity. According to the report presented by Dr. Mathew Medrano from Department of Health MIMAROPA, a total of 652, 761 equivalent to 29% individuals in the Region were already fully vaccinated while 54.93% remained unvaccinated as of November 20, 2021.

As of November 22, 2021, there were 32, 966 total confirmed cases reported with 906 deaths. Out of the total deaths, 98.6% were unvaccinated.

“With the data that we have right now, we have already 32, 966 total cases recorded in MIMAROPA and out of those, 906 na po ang namatay because of COVID-19 at mostly, affected po talaga ng COVID-19 ay ating elderly population”, Dr. Medrano reported.

It was also noticeable that those age groups belonging to 61-70 have high incidence of COVID-19 infection. 

“At kung titingnan po natin sa lahat po ng namatay, out of the 906 deaths because of COVID-19 98.6% po dun ay hindi nabigyan ng bakuna”, Dr. Medrano added.

The Dagyaw 2021 Virtual Town Hall Meeting continued to foster productive dialogues between National Government Agencies, Local Government Units, Civil Society Organizations, and even the private sectors regarding timely topics of concern in the MIMAROPA Region. 

By: RIO III Karen Shayne Duarte and LGOO III Whalee Ferrera