DEVOLUTION. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Eastern Visayas regional office in Tacloban City. The DILG will hold a regional forum to harmonize devolution transition plans between national government agencies and local government units regarding the implementation of Mandanas-Garcia ruling.(Photo courtesy of DILG Region 8) TACLOBAN CITY - The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Eastern Visayas (Region 8) will hold a regional forum to harmonize devolution transition plans between national government agencies (NGAs) and local government units (LGUs) regarding the implementation of Mandanas-Garcia Supreme Court ruling. Melford Maderazo, DILG Region 8 focal person of the devolution transition plan (DTP), said they have been doing coaching activities to review correct, and complete the local governments' DTP in the region in preparation for the upcoming forum. "All cities, towns, and villages have already submitted their DTPs. The next step is to clean up the DTPs in support of the ongoing transition to full devolution," Maderazo said in a press briefing on Thursday. The DILG has not yet announced the dates of the regional forum that will be held before the end of September. On the part of the national government, Department of Budget and Management Region 8 assistant director Aleli Hernandez said some agencies in the region have already submitted their DTPs to the DBM central office. Among these agencies are DILG; Department of Public Works and Highways; Department of Tourism; National Irrigation Administration; Department of Transportation; Department of Science and Technology; Department of Agriculture; Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development; Department of Trade and Industry; Department of Social Welfare and Development; Department of Education; and Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity. "Preparation of transition plans is in close coordination with national government agencies. The plans will serve as guides on the monitoring and performance assessment of local governments by the agencies concerned," Hernandez said. Government agencies are given until October 2022 to finalize their transition plans. Executive Order No. 138 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations mandate all provinces, cities, municipalities, and villages to prepare their DTPs in close coordination with the concerned national government agencies to guide them towards the full assumption of devolved functions and services that come with more financial resources. Last year, then President Rodrigo Duterte issued the directive to boost the local government's preparation for more responsibilities with the implementation of the Mandanas-Garcia ruling in 2022. The Supreme Court Mandanas-Garcia ruling resulted from the petition made by Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas and former Bataan governor Enrique Garcia Jr. before the Supreme Court on local government shares on internal revenue allotment (IRA). With the increased budget share, the LGUs are expected to be responsible for the funding and delivery of the activities, which have been devolved to them under Republic Act 7160, the Local Government Code of 1991, and other subsequent laws. Among the functions assigned to local governments based on the Local Government Code are agriculture programs, local infrastructures, environmental services, revenue mobilization, health services, maintenance of peace and order, employment facilitation, transportation, tourism, and housing. (PNA) }