SENATOR Francis “Tol” Tolentino underscored on Thursday that the training of the newly elected Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan officials is mission-critical as they will implement laws relating to significant issues in their respective constituencies.

During the plenary debates for the 2024 budget of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Tolentino said: “I see the post-election training modules to be given to our newly elected barangay officials as mission-ciritical in the sense that they are the ones supposed to implement laws.”

Such laws, according to the Senator, are concerned with the issues like anti-hazing, welfare of kasambahays, protecting indigenous peoples and fisherfolk rights in every barangay.

Sen. Tol likewise urged the DILG to professionalize and sufficiently fund the Local Government Academy (LGA) to be at par with the likes of Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore and

The Hague Academy for Local Governance in Netherlands.

“Kapag nagawa po natin iyon, siguro iyong mga taga-ibang bansa, dito na magte-training sa atin, sa DILG, and I’m sure our very competent DILG Secretary, this dream of mine will be realized in the near future given the proper resources,” Tolentino said.

LGA’s budget for 2024 is at P296.7 million with an allotment of P71.535 million for the post-election training.

AUTHOR PROFILE

People's Journal