The Mandanas-Garcia ruling, more popularly referred to as the Mandanas ruling, is considered as a major development related to local governance and devolution. Under the said Supreme Court (SC) ruling, the national government is required to expand the share of local government units (LGUs) in tax collection. Meanwhile, local government units (LGUs) are mandated to take responsibility for the delivery of services devolved to them by the national government.

IMPORTANT DATES

Following are some important dates related to the Mandanas ruling.

April 10, 2019: The Ruling. The SC ruled that the just share of LGUs from the national taxes should be reckoned not only based on the national internal revenue taxes collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), but based on all national taxes.

The decision stemmed out of 2013 petitions filed separately by then-Congressman Hermilando I. Mandanas and former Congressman Enrique T. Garcia, with other local elective officials. The petitions questioned the government’s manner of computing the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) shares of LGUs.

June 1, 2021: The Executive Order. Then-President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order No. (EO) 138 to support the efficient implementation of the SC ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia case and strengthen the autonomy and empowerment of LGUs. The order mandates the full devolution of basic services from national government agencies (NGAs) to LGUs.

March 2023: The Suspension. President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. suspended the implementation of EO 138 for one year, as the delineation of functions was not clear. He ordered the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and other concerned agencies to study the EO, and tasked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to come up with the necessary policy recommendations. A new EO is set to be issued before the end of 2023.