The construction of local ports has already been devolved to local government units (LGU), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said yesterday.
The DBM issued its statement in a Viber group with reporters after the agency was asked to comment on an earlier statement of a transportation official that while the Department of Transportation (DOTr) proposed the construction of 36 ports next year, the budget for which was not approved by the DBM.
“Per Section 17 B item 8 of the Local Government Code of the Philippines, and pursuant to the Supreme Court Ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia Case, the construction of local ports has already been devolved to the LGUs,” the DBM said.
The budget agency said the following basic services and facilities related to transportation and ports are devolved to the LGUs under Section 17 of the Local Government Code of 1991 or Republic Act No. 7160: infrastructure facilities including traffic signals and road signs and similar facilities; adequate transportation facilities; fish ports; and infrastructure facilities intended primarily to service the needs of the residents of the municipality including, but not limited to, fish ports, among others.
“Relatedly, per the submitted Devolution Transition Plans of the DOTr, Department of Agriculture and the Department of Public Works and Highways, the following programs/activities/projects were noted as assigned and for devolution to the LGUs: development of locally funded social and tourism ports, operation of municipal fishports in the city or for projects that cut across two or more barangays, and the construction/improvement of access roads leading to airports/seaports,” the DBM said.
