Amid the fracas between legislators concerning amendments to the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Rotarian and Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas underscored that neither the existing Charter nor the current form of government need tweaking; what needs to be done more assiduously, he said, is the rigorous enforcement of laws in the country.
“Our efforts should be day to day. Our present system of government has been (really) implemented well. So, the point is, let us implement first what we have and that is the reality,” Mandanas said in his speech before members of the Rotary Club of Manila during the Club’s meeting at the Manila Polo Club in Makati last Thursday, 15 February 2024.
Mandanas ruling
The Batangas governor particularly gave attention to the Mandanas ruling which he said has yet to be enforced, even if it had already been up for implementation since 2019, as the Supreme Court had already deemed it final and executory.
“Sadly, until now, the Mandanas ruling has not yet been implemented by the government. We have won that in the SC with regard to having the means to be able to implement local autonomy by giving us the just and legal share in the collection of national taxes. But it has not been implemented (even if) the law became final and executory way back in 2019,” Mandanas told Rotarians.
He said if the Mandanas ruling had been implemented, local government units could have received P2 trillion.
In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled on petitions filed by then-Congressman Mandanas and deceased Bataan Representative Enrique Garcia, among others, regarding the National Government’s manner of computing the Internal Revenue Allotment or IRA shares of local government units.
The SC decided that the just share of LGUs from the national taxes is not only based on the national internal revenue taxes collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, but also on all national taxes; that ruling by the SC became final and executory on 10 April 2019.
To carry out the SC’s decision on that matter, then President Rodrigo Duterte released on 1 June 2021 Executive Order No. 138 mandating the full devolution of basic services from the national government agencies to local government units.
Belonging to the #1 region
Meanwhile, Mandanas said the Province of Batangas was privileged to be included in the CALABARZON region which, according to him, is the highest provider of taxes poured into government coffers from levies contributed by millions of workers employed in the area.
“As the number one region, more people are working in CALABARZON than in the National Capital Region per year. In terms of contribution to the gross domestic product and to the economy, out of the total, we have the biggest share, as most companies, particularly in the economic zones, are headquartered in Batangas,” he said.
“This pushed us to work especially hard. But a lot of changes have to be made, in collaboration with the national government, respecting the principles of subsidiarity,” he added.
Batangas ranked third in the total value of Industry of CALABARZON, based on the 2023 records of the Philippine Statistics Authority, with a 23.0 percent share of the P1.49 trillion.
Among provinces and highly urbanized cities, Laguna accounted for the biggest share of 41.2 percent, trailed by Cavite with a 23.6 percent share.
Invoking the 4-way test
Mandanas, who has been a member of the Rotary Club since 1983, said his guiding light in running Batangas province’s 29 municipalities and five cities is the Rotarian’s doctrine — the 4-way test, that is, is it the TRUTH? Is it FAIR to all concerned? Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
“I have been trying to practice our 4-way test. That is something for everyone to follow, particularly those who serve in government, the 4-way test is really what we need to abide by right now in this country. We all know that to be able to achieve real change and development, we need to practice that creed. We must have peace and order with everyone, we should have justice. And to attain those two, we have to have the truth,” according to Mandanas.
Besides being the chief executive of Batangas, Mandanas is also the chairperson of the Regional Development Committee for CALABARZON of the National Economic and Development Authority, Regional Development Committee, as well as the NEDA Regional Development Council CALABARZON.
Prior to his gubernatorial stint, Governor Mandanas served as the Representative of the 2nd district of the Province of Batangas from 2004 to 2013, and was chairperson of the Ways and Means Committee and Vice Chairperson of the Economic Affairs Committee at the House of Representatives.
He was formerly chairperson and CEO of AbaCore Capital Holdings, Inc., a PSA-listed holding company with interests in the leasing of gaming equipment, gold and coal mining, real estate, and financial services.
