Mar taps civil society to monitor LGUs' funds spending

MANILA, Philippines -  Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas on Monday sought the help of civil society in monitoring how local government officials spend public funds.

 

During the 1st Regional launching of the Koalisyon ng Mamamayan para sa Reporma (KOMPRe) at the De La Salle University Science Institute campus in Bacoor, Cavite, Roxas said that the government allots a total of P20 billion for local government projects via the Grassroots Participatory Process (GPP).

 

He said the amount is to be divided among the 1,600 local government units (LGUs) in the country -- P30 million for each city, and P12 million for each municipality.

 

Under the GPP, Roxas said that each LGU will choose its own projects, which the national government will provide funds for.

 

 To make the program effective, he said the GPP fund's spending must be closely monitored.

 

''Nais namin na may mata, mas maraming nakatutok, mas maraming nakabantay,'' he said.

 

He also encouraged members of KOMPRe to report at once any anomaly regarding the implementation of the projects.

 

Meanwhile, Roxas also sought KOMPRe's help in ridding the police force of scalawags.

 

He, however, assured that that of the 150,000 policemen nationwide, 99 percent is performing its job well.

 

He said if members of KOMPRe have information, he encouraged them to report it to them so that erring policemen maybe investigated, charged and eventually penalized.