THE BUDGET department will upgrade the salaries of some local government positions next year, part of an expansion of programs entailing the allocation of more national funds to local government units (LGUs).
In a statement issued yesterday, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) announced the reclassification of some Local Government Operations Officer (LGOO) items under the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
“Essentially, this is part of the national government’s overall investment in strengthening LGUs,” Department of Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad said in the statement.
“We are supporting the oversight agencies and personnel who will be working with LGUs for the almost P100-billion funds intended for performance-based, direct download programs.”
The government will reclassify LGOO IV personnel, who function as cluster heads, to LGOO VII positions. The change involves a two-step bump in salary to grade 24.
A cluster head assists a provincial DILG office in operations management, planning and supervision of seven to 15 city or municipal LGOOs.
Meanwhile, LGOO V positions, posted to municipalities, will be reclassified to LGOO VI with a corresponding change in the salary grade to 22 from 20.
Cluster heads will continue to receive representation and transportation allowances equivalent to what a division chief receives. LGOO VI assigned to municipalities can receive the same allowance given to those in independent and component cities.
Mr. Abad noted the implementation and eventual expansion of the Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB) and other performance-based programs for LGUs present an additional workload for LGOOs.
The BuB initiative, first implemented in 2013, provides for a participatory budgetary process by allowing local stakeholders to select priority poverty reduction programs the national government will fund.
The DBM is setting aside P35 billion of next year’s P3.35-trillion national budget for BuB projects. This marks a 42% increase from the P24.7 billion programmed this year, as the government expands the program to cover 12,000 barangays initially.
LGOOs are expected to generate baseline conditions in the first-wave barangays, assist in project development, initiate monitoring and risk management, and complete four visits per project for no less than 30% of barangays per municipality.
In 2012, LGOOs provided technical assistance on project development and monitoring to 573 projects. In 2015, the number ballooned to 17,623 projects under the DILG and other national government agencies.
“The performance management part of their job has become more complex,” Mr. Abad noted.
“They now have to manage executive-legislative collaboration, and their monitoring and reporting requirements have multiplied, such as inter-agency requirements, program performance, and risk management. In addition, they now also ensure that CSO (civil society organization) assemblies and forums for BuB are convened.” -- Keith Richard D. Mariano
source: Businessworld
