Pimentel, Jr. v.

Ochoa
G.R. 195770 – July 17, 2012
J. Perlas-Bernabe

Topic: Declaration of Policy – Autonomy and Decentralization

Doctrine: Under the Philippine concept of local autonomy, the national government has not completely relinquished
all its powers over local governments, including autonomous regions. Only administrative powers over local affairs are
delegated to political subdivisions. The purpose of delegation is to make governance more directly responsive and efficient.
However, to enable a country to develop as a whole, the programs and policies effected locally must be integrated and
coordinated towards a common national goal. Policy-setting for the entire country still lies in the President and the
Congress.

Petitioner: Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., Sergio Tadeo and Nelson Alcantara

Respondents: Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa and Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman of the DSWD

Case Summary: Petitioners in this case claim that the project by DSWD in partnership with certain LGUs are
unconstitutional because of its effect of “recentralization”, which is the exact opposite of what the Constitution pushes
towards  “decentralization”. The petitioners claim that the national government should not be encroaching upon the
autonomy of LGUs especially for projects that were specifically made to be carried out and implemented by them. The
Court in this case ruled that although the Constitution and the LGC pushes for decentralization, the national government
cannot be completely void of participation and authority when it comes to such projects. (See Doctrine)

Facts:
 The case was a Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition on the constitutionality of certain provisions of RA 10147 or
the General Appropriations Act of 2011 (GAA) which provides a P21B budget allocation for the Conditional Cash
Transfer Program (CCTP) headed by the DSWD
o The petition seeks to enjoin Ochoa and Soliman from implementing the said program on the ground that it
amounts to “recentralization” of government functions that have already been devolved from the national
government to the LGUs
 2007: DSWD wanted to reduce poverty with the poorest of the poor as target beneficiaries
o The Project was dubbed “Ahon Pamilyang Pilipino”; among some of the municipalities that were pilot-
tested were Sibagat and Esperanza in Agusan del Sur; the Caragaa Region; and the cities of Pasay and
Caloocan
 There was a release of P50M under a Special Allotment Release Order issued by the DBM
 2008: DSWD issued AO 16 series of 2008 setting the implementing guidelines for the project which was now
renamed to “Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program” (4Ps)
o The objectives of the project were the ff:
 Improve preventive health care of pregnant women and young children; Increase
enrollment/attendance of children at elementary level; Reduce incidence of child labor; Raise
consumption of poor households on nutrient dense foods; Encourage parents to invest in their
children’s (and own) future; Encourage parent’s participation in the grown and development of
young children, as well as involvement in the community
o This government intervention scheme also referred to as CCTP “provides cash grants to extreme poor
households to allow the members of the families to meet certain human development goals”
 Eligible households would be granted a health assistance of 500/month, or 6,000/year, and an
educational assistance of 300/month for 10 months, or a total of 3,000/year for each child but
maximum of 3 children per family
- These households are selected from priority target areas consisting of the poorest
provinces classified by the National Statistical Coordination Board
o In addition, after an assessment on appropriate assistance packages, a household beneficiary can also
receive an annual subsidy for basic needs up to an amount of 15,000 under the ff. conditions:
 Pregnant women must get pre-natal care starting from the 1 st trimester, child birth is attended by
skilled/trained professional, get post-natal care; Parents/guardians must attend family planning
sessions/mother’s class, parent effectiveness service and others; Children 0-5 years of age get
regular preventive health check-ups and vaccines; Children 3-5 years must attend day care
program/pre-school; Children 6-14 are enrolled in schools and attend at least 85% of the time
 o Under this AO, the DSWD also coordinated with the ff. agencies DepEd, DOH, DILG, NAPC and LGUs,
identifying specific roles and functions in order to ensure effective and efficient implementation of the
CCTP
 However, it is still the DSWD which takes on the role of lead implementing agency that must
“oversee and coordinate the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the program”  the
concerned LGU as partner agency is tasked to:
- Ensure availability of supplies on health and education; Provide necessary technical
assistance for program implementation; Coordinate implementation/operationalization of
activities; Coordinate with various concerned government agencies at the local level,
sectoral representatives and NGO to ensure effective Program implementation; Prepare
reports on issues and concerns regarding Program implementation and submit to the
Regional Advisory Committee; Hold monthly meetings
 A MOA was executed between the DSWD and each participating LGU outlining the details of the obligations of
both parties during the intended 50year implementation of the CCTP
o Congress, for its part, sought to ensure the success of the CCTP by providing it with funding under the
GAA of 2008 in the amount of P298.550M  This budget increased tremendously to P5B in 2009  then
became P10B in 2010  P21B in 2011
 Petitioner Pimentel Jr., a former Senator, joined by Tadeo incumbent President of the Association of Brgy. Captains
of Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, and Alcantara, incumbent Brgy. Captain of Brgy. Sta. Monica, QC, challenges the
disbursement of public funds and the implementation of the CCTP which are alleged to have encroached into
the local autonomy of the LGUs

Issues + Held:
1. W/N the P21B CCTP budget violates Art. II, Sec. 25 & Art. X, Sec 3 of the 1987 Constitution, in relation to Sec. 17
of the LGC by providing for the recentralization of the National Government in the delivery of basic services already
devolved to LGUs – NO
 The petitioners admit the wisdom of the adoption of the poverty reduction strategy, and the fact that such project is
within the realm of the power of the Congress. However, they question the manner by which it is being
implemented  through a national agency like the DSWD instead of the LGUs, to which the responsibility and
functions of delivering social welfare, agriculture and health care services have been devolved pursuant to Section
17 of the LGC1, in relation to Article II Section 252 and Article X Section 3 of the Constitution3.
o Petitioners claim that the project results in the “recentralization” of basic government functions, which
contrary to the precepts of local autonomy and the policy of decentralization
 The Court ruled that indeed, the Constitution declares it a policy of the State to ensure the autonomy of local
governments. (Article X, Section 34 and Section 145)

1
LGC. Section 17. Basic Services and Facilities. -

(a) Local government units shall endeavor to be self-reliant and shall continue exercising the powers and discharging the duties and functions
currently vested upon them. They shall also discharge the functions and responsibilities of national agencies and offices devolved to them
pursuant to this Code. Local government units shall likewise exercise such other powers and discharge such other functions and responsibilities
as are necessary, appropriate, or incidental to efficient and effective provisions of the basic services and facilities enumerated herein.
(Extremely long provision, please check the LGC for the rest <3)

2
Art. II. SECTION 25. The State shall ensure the autonomy of local governments.

3
Art. II SECTION 3. The Congress shall enact a local government code which shall provide for a more responsive and accountable local government
structure instituted through a system of decentralization with effective mechanisms of recall, initiative, and referendum, allocate among the different local
government units their powers, responsibilities, and resources, and provide for the qualifications, election, appointment and removal, term, salaries,
powers and functions and duties of local officials, and all other matters relating to the organization and operation of the local units.

4
Art. X. Section 3. The Congress shall enact a local government code which shall provide for a more responsive and accountable local government
structure instituted through a system of decentralization with effective mechanisms of recall, initiative, and referendum, allocate among the different local
government units their powers, responsibilities, and resources, and provide for the qualifications, election, appointment and removal, term, salaries,
powers and functions and duties of local officials, and all other matters relating to the organization and operation of the local units.
 o In order to fully secure to the LGUs the genuine and meaningful autonomy that would help them develop
in to self-reliant communities and effective partners in the attainment of national goals, Section 17 of the
LGC 6 was enacted.
o Why is there an express reservation of power by the national government?
 That is because unless an LGU is specifically designated as the implementing agency, then said
LGU has no power over a program for which funding has been provided by the National
Government under the GAA, even if the program involves the delivery of basic services within
the LGU
o Ganzon v. CA “while it is through a system of decentralization that the State shall promote a more
responsive and accountable local government structure, the concept of local autonomy does not imply the
conversion of local government units into mini-states.”
 The Constitution did not intend to sever the relation of partnership and interdependence between
the central administration and LGUs
o Pimentel v. Aguirre the Court defined the extent of the local government’s autonomy in terms of its
partnership with the national government in pursuit of common national goals, referring to such key
concepts as integration and coordination
 Under the Philippine concept of local autonomy, the national government has not completely relinquished all
its powers over local governments, including autonomous regions.
o Only administrative powers over local affairs are delegated to political subdivisions
o Yes, the purpose of delegation is to make governance more directly responsive and efficient. However, to
enable a country to develop as a whole, the programs and policies effected locally must be integrated and
coordinated towards a common national goal. Policy-setting for the entire country still lies in the
President and the Congress.
 The Court further stated that to yield unreserved power of governance to the LGU as to preclude any and all
involvement by the national government would be to shift the tide of monopolistic power to the other extreme
 Autonomy is either decentralization of administration or decentralization of power
o Decentralization of administration is present when the central government delegates administrative powers
to political subdivisions in order to broaden the base of government power and in the process, make local
governments more responsive and accountable and ensure their fullest development as self-reliant
communities and make them more effective partners in the pursuit of national development and social
progress
 This also relieves central government of burden of managing local affairs and enables it to
concentrate on national concerns
 It is the president that exercises general supervision, but only to ensure that local affairs are
administered according to law  President has no control over their acts in the sense that he can
substitute their judgments with his own
o Decentralization of power involves an abdication of political power in favor of local government units,
declared to be autonomous. The autonomous government is then free to chart its own destiny and shape its
future with minimum intervention from central authorities.
 The autonomous government becomes accountable not to the central authorities, but to its
constituency
 Indeed, a complete relinquishment of central government powers on the matter of providing basic facilities
and services cannot be implied as the LGC itself weighs against it.
o The national government is not precluded from taking a direct hand in the implantation of national
development programs especially when implemented in coordination with LGUs concerned
 Every law has in its favor the presumption of constitutionality  to justify a nullification of such law, there must be
a clear and unequivocal breach of the Constitution  this was not proven by the Petitioners

5
Art. X. Section 14. The President shall provide for regional development councils or other similar bodies composed of local government officials, regional
heads of departments and other government offices, and representatives from non-governmental organizations within the regions for purposes of
administrative decentralization to strengthen the autonomy of the units therein and to accelerate the economic and social growth and development of
the units in the region.

6
Id. 1
  The allocation of a P21B budget for the program formulated by the national government and implemented in
partnership with the LGUs to achieve common national goal development and social progress cannot be seen as an
encroachment upon the autonomy of local governments

Ruling: WHEREFORE, petition is DISMISSED.