Escudero Proposes Infrastructure Reform Bill to Boost LGU Role
Senator Francis Escudero has proposed the Grassroots Infrastructure Planning and Budgeting Act to reform the national budgeting process. The bill aims to curb irregularities and enhance transparency by involving local government units (LGUs) more in infrastructure project identification and approval.
Escudero suggested that LGUs should play a greater role in selecting infrastructure projects in their areas. The bill requires all projects to have prior endorsement from the Regional Development Council (RDC) and relevant local governing bodies before being included in the National Expenditure Program (NEP). This endorsement would also be mandatory for amendments introduced during budget deliberations.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) will not release funds for any project without RDC endorsement or approval. Escudero urged Congress to prioritize the passage of the measure, citing recent substandard and 'ghost' flood control projects as evidence of the need for reform in infrastructure planning and budgeting.
As of 2023, Escudero's proposed act had been filed and advocated for but not yet specifically approved by the Philippine Congress. Efforts to prioritize its passage were ongoing to ensure tighter local government involvement and prevent budget irregularities.
Read also:
- American teenagers taking up farming roles previously filled by immigrants, a concept revisited from 1965's labor market shift.
- Weekly affairs in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Landslide claims seven lives, injures six individuals while they work to restore a water channel in the northern region of Pakistan
- Escalating conflict in Sudan has prompted the United Nations to announce a critical gender crisis, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the ongoing violence on women and girls.
