DAVAO del Sur Rep. John Tracy Cagas urged the Department of Budget and Management to postpone the devolution of funding to local government units for basic education facilities for fiscal year 2023.

In House Resolution 417, Cagas stressed the need to review the devolution transition plans prior to implementation considering the implications of the pandemic and its effect to the fiscal year 2023.

Cagas’ resolution cited the Mandanas-Garcia ruling promulgated by the Supreme Court on April 10,2019 that increased the tax base on which the revenue share of LGUs are derived from.

As early as 2020, the Department of Education, under then Secretary Leonor Briones has expressed its apprehension on the draft Executive Order on the devolution of certain functions of the Executive Branch to local governments, he said.

“On July 13, 2022, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte reiterated the stand of the Department of Education pointing out the political and social implications of the EO,” he said in the resolution.

The lawmaker added that schools need educational infrastructure now that students have resumed face-to-face classes.