Press Release
March 30, 2015

Koko seeks bipartisan support for "Bigger Pie, Bigger Slice" bill

Responding to the appeal of town mayors, Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel lll today sought bipartisan support for the approval of his proposed measure to give local government units (LGUs) their rightful shares from the national taxes.

Known as the "Bigger Pie, Bigger Slice" bill, Pimentel said the measure seeks to change the limited internal revenue allocations (IRAs) of LGUs into the expanded and bigger shares in the national taxes (SNTs).

He said the change would give LGUs a larger share of 50 percent from the current 40 percent of the total tax collections that would include both revenues collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs.

Pimentel said the new formula means more available funds for more benefits and better services made available to more people, and envisioned to result in more positive quality of life changes in the lives of more Filipinos.

"Hating kapatid," said Pimentel of the proposed 50-50 formula between the national government the LGUs in keeping with the constitutional mandate to give LGUs an equitable share from the national wealth.

The League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP, representing 1,490 municipal governments, will hold its 2015 General Assembly on April 14-16 at the Manila Hotel to press Congress, among others, to prioritize Pimentel's measure.

The municipal mayors are expected to make an appeal to President Aquino, who has been invited as guest of honor and speaker, to make the bill an urgent and certified measure for prioritization by Congress.

Pimentel said the proposed legislation would contribute greatly in the empowerment of LGUs because the added funds would translate to LGUs' ability to provide more services and offer more opportunities to their constituents.

"All these substantial increases in funding are meant to benefit the LGUs and their constituencies," said Pimentel, adding it would mean more schools, better health care, more sustainable livelihood projects and more jobs.

The "Bigger Pie, Bigger Slice" bill is envisioned to practically double the annual automatic allocations of LGUs, namely the barangays, municipalities, cities and provinces, from the general appropriations act.

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