THE Commission on Appointments yesterday approved the appointments of Juanito Victo “Jonvic” Remulla as secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government and lawyer Marilyn Barua-Yap as chairperson of the Civil Service Commission.
Their appointments were approved after they satisfactorily answered queries from CA members composed of congressmen and senators. Nobody among the members opposed.
Before his formal confirmation, Remulla, brother of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, was asked by Senate minority leader Risa Hontiveros what he would do to improve the local government framework.
Remulla said he intends to recommend amendments to the decades-old Local Government Code, especially on how the internal revenue allotment (IRA) for local government units is computed, and to give governors “a greater role in managing the affairs of their province.”
“The most obvious, ma’am, is we have to examine how the IRA is computed. I think everyone here who has served in local government sees a great question mark every time an IRA is passed down to a province,” Remulla said.
He said that mayors should also be given a “greater role” in managing the affairs of his province, especially in terms of waste management.
“If you look at the Local Government Code, it is the responsibility of the mayor for waste management. However, you have municipalities who are fourth and fifth-class that have to collect and dispose of their waste by themselves,” he said.
Rep. Luis Raymond Villafuerte thanked Hontiveros for “highlighting the issue of the need to amend the Local Government Code” since “the basic need for a local government to function is basically resources.”
“And as mentioned by the secretary, fiscal autonomy is really needed,” Villafuerte said in a mix of Filipino and English.
He recommended to Remulla that IRAs should be based on a two-year collection, instead of the current three-year collection.
He said Remulla will have the full support of lawmakers in whatever amendments to the Local Government Code he may recommend.
Remulla was appointed DILG secretary after former secretary Benhur Abalos resigned to run for senator in next year’s midterm elections.
Remulla said he would also make sure that promotions in the rank of police officers would be based on merits so as not to have too many star-rank officials. He said the PNP currently has 153 generals.
He said a lot of police officers have been promoted to the rank of generals but don’t have a command, the reason why there are many “floating generals.”
“Upon examination, the military is promoted every five years, but the PNP follows their promotion on Civil Service rules, which is why they’re eligible every three years. So, it becomes very bloated and it becomes a right rather than a privilege to become a general. So, I propose that it be based on merit and it is based on need and it is based on function,” he added.
Remulla said that even if he is new to the position, he has been coordinating with government agencies to prevent casualties in times of calamities.
“The evacuation procedures were much better. We gave daily briefers to the LGUs through the OCD (Office of the Civil Defense),” he said.
To address the problems of the digital gap, Remulla said telco companies should coordinate directly with mayors so they can be given clearance on where they construct their towers.
“If we do it now on a seven-stage permit level, then the process becomes inefficient,” he added.
