Call for Cooperation among govs made by key officers to push governance reforms

United local action is necessary to address various governance challenges faced by the provinces.
As the forerunner for local development, provinces need to strengthen cooperation between and among each other to address governance challenges toward ensuring more efficient and responsive delivery of basic social services to the Filipinos.
The newly elected officers of the League of Provinces of the Philippines, led by its president, Gov. Reynaldo S. Tamayo Jr., National Chairman Gov. Dakila Carlo E. Cua and Executive Vice President Gov. Lilia “Nanay” G. Pineda, jointly called on their colleagues to work together to find common, but differentiated, solutions to the many challenges being faced by provincial local chief executives.
As the mandated organization for “ventilating, articulating and crystallizing issues affecting provincial government administration,” the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) is the best venue for all governors to come together and discuss key governance reforms to address these challenges.
In taking on the leadership of the LPP, the three governors emphasized the need for all provinces to get involved and share their innovations and propose solutions to address urgent and emerging development challenges within their respective jurisdictions.
Among the first actions proposed by Gov. Pineda is for the LPP to submit proposals and recommendations to amend the Local Government Code to better capacitate local officials to address identified development needs and priorities in their respective jurisdictions.
“Tugunan din natin ang panawagan ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. na magsumite ng mga rekomendasyon para sa pag-aamyenda ng mga probisyon sa Local Government Code na hindi na angkop sa kasalukuyang panahon kagaya ng mas malawak na kapangyarihan at pondo sa LGUs upang mas epektibong matugunan ang pangagailangan ng ating nasasakupan (Let us heed to call of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to submit recommendations to address provisions of the Local Government Code that are no longer relevant to the prevailing situation, such as granting broader powers and increased fiscal space for LGUs in order to effectively address the needs of their constituents),” Gov. Pineda said.
Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Juanito Victor C. Remulla announced during the 1st General Assembly and Election of Officers of the LPP held on 25 July 2025 that the DILG is currently finalizing the mechanism on the review of the provisions of the 34-year old LGC and come up with the corresponding proposals for the amendments.
These proposals for the amendments will be submitted to the 20th Congress for legislative action.
The differing capacities – both fiscal and governance – make it more imperative that all provincial governments to work more closely together to find solutions to common challenges in order to move the country’s development goals forward, the three LPP officers said.
Gov. Tamayo emphasized that all provinces have a shared responsibility to work harder to uplift the lives of every Filipino, especially as Gov. Cua pointed out that “the future is local.”
Gov. Pineda identified some of the key governance challenges that the provinces need to work together to find solutions are the worsening problems of solid waste management, worsening floods brought about by climate change and the lack of funds for anticipatory actions for calamity preparedness.
She also urged her colleagues to give attention to other governance issues such as fully implementing the functions and mandates of provincial governments under the Universal Health Care Act and ensuring the quality and effective delivery of social services to their constituents.
As outlined by the new set of officers, the direction of the LPP in the next three years would be not only toward pushing for governance reforms to strengthen and further empower provinces to the be forerunners of a more responsive, inclusive and future-ready local development, but also providing all provinces a venue to showcase their respective governance innovations and best practices so that others can benchmark in order to adapt or innovate on based on their local needs and situation.
Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto expressed support to the proposals set forth by the new set of LPP officers and said that innovation is important and for leaders to keep pace with current times and the challenges it brings, and put into full use the advances in technology.