EXECUTIVE Secretary Ralph Recto met with local government leaders to deepen partnership on the timely and transparent use of the national budget, Malacañang said Wednesday.
In a statement, the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES) said the meeting complied with the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to “make LGUs (local government units) not as mere recipients but active partners in utilizing the country’s financial resources.” “The consultation focused on a rules-based aligning of national priorities with local needs, improving fund utilization, which will be based on a verifiable and measurable social good that the LGSF (Local Government Support Fund) can create,” the OES said.
Present at the meeting were Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines National President and League of Provinces of the Philippines Chairman Gov. Dakila Carlo Cua, LPP President Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr., League of Cities of the Philippines President Mayor Francis Zamora, League of Municipalities of the Philippines President Mayor Faustino Dy V, and Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas President Maria Katrina Jessica Dy.
Budget Secretary Rolando Toledo, along with assistant secretaries Ryan Lita and Angel Magtalas, also attended the consultation.
House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos was likewise present during the meeting.
Under the 2026 General Appropriations Act, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said that LGUs received a P1.19 trillion National Tax Allotment on top of more than P31.7 billion in special shares from the national government and P1.41 billion from fire code fees.
LGUs also received P57.87 billion in LGSF for 2026, which is more than double last year’s allocation. The fund is designed to strengthen basic services and support far-flung localities, especially low-income or resource-constrained LGUs.
Of the P39.82 billion in National Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Fund for 2026, P15.33 billion will go directly to LGUs’ rehabilitation and construction works.
Meanwhile, the DBM said that P10.685 billion was allotted for the quick reaction fund, adding the emergency fund could be replenished once the LGUs have spent 50 percent of their QRFs.
