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MANILA, (PIA) -- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday urged members of the Philippine Councilors League (PCL) to support the passage of the administration’s top legislative initiatives that will benefit local government units (LGUs) across the country.

“With this, I am hopeful that you will support the passage of the administration’s legislative priorities, particularly measures that aim to capacitate local government units,” Pres. Marcos said during the PCL National Convention 2023 held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

These measures include the e-Government Act, which will institutionalize digitization in the bureaucracy and ensure quicker government transactions, and the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Law Amendment, which will address ambiguities, bottlenecks, and other implementation-related issues.

According to the President, revising the BOT Law would enable local governments to take part in more projects since the proposed changes will streamline the regulations and remove any ambiguities that currently prevent them from participating in public-private partnerships (PPPs).

Moreover, the National Land Use Act and the Tax Package 3, commonly known as the Valuation Reform Bill, are two other pieces of legislation that the Chief Executive urged the council members to support in order to assure the creation of a fair, equitable, and effective real property assessment system.

The President also made mention of other legislative priorities geared toward local autonomy and decentralization of powers.

“So let us also work together for the passage of the Waste Treatment Technology Act, which will pave the way for modern options in solving the persistent garbage problem of the country,” he said.

“This will mandate LGUs to promote, encourage, and implement a comprehensive solid waste management program that includes reduction, segregation, recycling, and recovery,” he added. 

It can be recalled that the PCL is a local government organization of all the municipal and city councilors in the Philippines. The association with a large constituency is always at the forefront of contemporary and emerging trends in the local administration and development to help improve the quality of life of the Filipino people through effective local legislation. (PIA-NCR)