KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato — South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo S. Tamayo Jr. has urged local government units (LGUs) to accelerate the utilization of national funds to stimulate local economic activity and contribute to national economic growth.
Speaking on Bilyonaryo News Channel’s Business 360, Tamayo emphasized that the timely implementation of government-funded projects is as important as the allocation of funds, particularly as the national government prepares a proposed ₱7.2-trillion national budget for 2027.
“The more funds that we utilize, the bigger the volume of money that goes to our locality,” Tamayo said, noting that faster fund utilization helps generate economic activity at the local level.
Tamayo, who serves as national president of the League of Provinces of the Philippines and national chairman of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, said LGUs need to improve their spending performance to maximize the benefits of national government funding.
He cited South Cotabato’s experience in increasing its fund absorption rate from around 52% to 55% to 82% to 87% after the provincial government strengthened its internal spending targets and implementation mechanisms.
The improvement, he said, contributed to the province’s 6.9% economic growth rate last year.
Under existing national policy, LGUs with fund utilization rates below 65% may be unable to access supplementary national funds beyond their mandatory National Tax Allotment, underscoring the need for local governments to ensure that allocated resources are promptly converted into projects and services.
Tamayo also pointed to the devolution of certain infrastructure projects to LGUs as one way to address delays in project implementation, particularly those caused by procurement processes at national government agencies.
Among these are school building projects that were previously implemented through the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). The Department of Agriculture (DA) is likewise evaluating the possible direct implementation by LGUs of smaller farm-to-market road projects.
According to the governor, bringing project implementation closer to local governments could help speed up delivery while allowing local officials to respond more quickly to community needs.
He also stressed the importance of involving the private sector and local communities in monitoring government projects to help ensure quality implementation and prevent substandard work and so-called ghost projects.
Tamayo expressed optimism that full devolution could be achieved by 2028 with sustained legislative and administrative support.
He further called on LGUs to maximize the use of their current-year funds rather than allowing appropriations to remain unutilized.
“We need to utilize the money for this year because the money for next year is different, and we need to spend it,” Tamayo said.
For Tamayo, faster fund utilization is not simply a matter of improving government spending performance but also a means of ensuring that public funds immediately translate into economic activity, infrastructure, and services for local communities.
