As the national president of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), Mayor Evelio Leonardia will lead the virtual 70th LCP- National Executive Board (NEB) meeting today [Dec. 11].
Leonardia said the board will tackle pressing issues confronting city governments across the country. The meeting’s main agenda is the dialogue with national government agencies (NGAs) on the benefits of the “Bayanihan to Recover As One Act” to cities.
In the meeting, city mayors will engage NGAs in a constructive dialogue to create more responsive and strategic financing options for cities stricken by a series of typhoons while fighting the spread of COVID-19 in urban areas.
The League has invited Secretary Wendel Avisado of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Secretary Carlos Dominguez of the Department of Finance (DoF), and Secretary Eduardo Año of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to expound on certain concerns.
Avisado will elaborate on the Local Government Support Fund-COVID 19 Financial Assistance to LGUs; Dominguez will discuss available credit financing windows for cities; while Aňo will provide updates on the transition plan to implement the Mandanas-Garcia ruling in 2022.
Aside from the dialogue with the NGAs, the LCP Board will also ratify the creation of the Special Committee on Coordinated Typhoon Response spearheaded by LCP Secretary General and Calapan City Mayor Arnan Panaligan.
As of the present, the Committee raised a total of P6.5 million in donations and pledges for the affected cities, apart from the P900,000 that were directly given to affected cities.
(News & photo courtesy of Bacolod City Public Information Office)