Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.,  
HON. MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE, HON. TSUYOSHI ANTHONY “HORI” G. 
HORIBATA AND HON. NICOLAS “NICK” ENCISO VIII 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article II, Section 25, provides:  
The State shall ensure the autonomy of local governments. 
A local government unit is a political subdivision of the State, which is constituted by law and 
possessed of substantial control over its own affairs. Remaining an intra-sovereign subdivision of 
one sovereign nation, but not intended, however, to be an “imperium in imperio,” the local 
government unit is autonomous in the sense that it is given more powers, authority, 
responsibilities, and resources (Alvarez vs. Guingona, Jr., 252 SCRA 695 [1996]). 
Unfortunately, the free exercise of such autonomy is hampered by the imposition, in the absence 
of full consideration by Congress, of unfounded mandates on local government units. 
These unfunded mandates displace other essential local government priorities, impose 
contradictory and inconsistent requirements, and compound the fiscal difficulties of local 
government units to render basic services to the people. 
Hence, this bill seeks to curb the practice of imposing unfunded mandates on local government 
units in order to allow them to efficiently manage local affairs. 
LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE  
TSUYOSHI ANTHONY “HORI” G. HORIBATA 
NICOLAS “NICK” ENCISO VIII 
September 13, 2022
8:00 am
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.,  
HON. MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE, HON. TSUYOSHI ANTHONY “HORI” G. 
HORIBATA AND HON. NICOLAS “NICK” ENCISO VIII 
AN ACT 
CURBING THE PRACTICE OF IMPOSING UNFUNDED MANDATES 
ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Unfunded Mandate Reform 
Act.” 
SECTION 2. Purposes. – The purposes of this Act are: 
(A) To strengthen the partnership between the national government and local 
government units; 
(B) To end the imposition, in the absence of full consideration by Congress, of mandates 
on local government units in a manner that may displace other essential local 
government priorities. 
SECTION 3. Limitation on Application. – This Act shall not apply to any provision in a 
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statute or proposed or final regulation that — 
 
(A) Enforces constitutional rights of the individuals; 
 
(B) Establishes or enforces any statutory rights that prohibit discrimination on the basis 
of age, race, religion, gender, or handicapped or disability status; 
 
(C) Requires compliance with accounting and auditing procedures with respect to grants 
or other money or property provided by the Government;  
 
(D) Provides for emergency assistance or relief at the request of any local government, 
or any official of such a government; 
 
(E) Is necessary for the national security or the ratification or implementation of 
international treaty obligations; 
 
(F) The President designates as emergency legislation and that the Congress so 
designates in statute; and 
 
(G) Pertains to Social Security. 
 
SECTION 4. Establishment of an Advisory Council. – There shall be established an 
advisory council, to be created under the Office of the President. 
 
(A) In General. – The task force shall — 
 
(1) Oversee the implementation of this Act; 
 
(2) Investigate and review the role of unfunded mandates in the intergovernmental 
relations and their impact on local objectives and responsibilities, and their impact 
on the competitive balance between the national government, local government 


 
 
units, and the private sector and consider views of and the impact on working men 
and women on those same matters; 
 
(3) Investigate and review the role of unfunded mandates imposed on local 
governments, the private sector, and individuals; 
 
(4) Investigate and review the role of unfunded local mandates imposed on the 
private sector and individuals; and 
 
(5) Make recommendations to the President and the Congress regarding— 
 
(a) Allowing flexibility for local government units in complying with specific 
unfunded mandates for which terms of compliance are unnecessarily rigid or 
complex;  
(b) Reconciling any two (2) or more unfunded mandates which impose 
contradictory or inconsistent requirements; 
(c) Terminating unfunded mandates which are duplicative, obsolete, or lacking 
in practical utility; 
(d) Suspending on a temporary basis, unfunded mandates which are not vital 
to public health and safety and which compound the fiscal difficulties of local 
government units, including recommendations for triggering such suspension; 
(e) Consolidating or simplifying unfunded mandates or the planning or 
reporting requirements of such mandates, in order to reduce duplication and 
facilitate compliance by local government units with those mandates;  
(f)  Establishing procedures that, in cases in which a piece of legislation would 
require a mandate on local government units, the same shall not increase local 
government unit burdens; and 
(g) Establishing the general rule that Congress shall not impose mandates on 
local government units without providing adequate funding to comply with such 
mandates; and 
 


 
 
Each recommendation under paragraph (5) shall, to the extent practicable, identify the 
specific unfunded mandates to which the recommendation applies. 
 
(6) Assist Congress in its consideration of proposed legislation establishing or 
revising programs containing mandates affecting local government units, and the 
private sector by — 
 
(a) Providing for the development of information about the nature and size of 
mandates in proposed legislation; and 
(b) Establishing a mechanism to bring such information to the attention of the 
Senate and House of Representatives before the Senate and House of 
Representatives votes on proposed legislation. 
 
(7) Promote informed and deliberate decisions by Congress on the appropriateness 
of mandates in any particular instance; 
 
(8) Establish a point-of-order vote on the consideration in the Senate and House of 
Representatives of legislation containing significant mandates; 
 
(9) Assist agencies in their consideration of proposed regulations affecting local 
government units by — 
 
(a) Requiring that agencies develop a process to enable the elected and other 
officials of local governments to provide input when agencies are developing 
regulations; and 
(b) Requiring that agencies prepare and consider better estimates of the 
budgetary impact of regulations containing mandates upon local government 
units before adopting such regulations; 
 
(B) Criteria. – 
 


 
 
(1) In General. – The Advisory Commission shall establish criteria for making 
recommendations. 
(2) Issuance of Proposed Criteria. – The Advisory Commission shall issue proposed 
criteria under this subsection not later than sixty (60) days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and thereafter provide a period of thirty (30) days for 
submission by the public of comments on the proposed criteria. 
(3) Final Criteria. – Not later than forty-five (45) days after the date of issuance of 
proposed criteria, the Advisory Commission shall — 
 
(a) Consider comments on the proposed criteria received under paragraph (2); 
(b) Adopt and incorporate in final criteria any recommendations submitted in 
those comments that the Advisory Commission determines will aid the Advisory 
Commission in carrying out its duties under this section; and  
(c) Issue final criteria under this subsection. 
 
(C) Preliminary Report. – 
 
(1) In General. – Not later than nine (9) months after the date of enactment of this, 
the Advisory Commission shall — 
 
(a) Prepare and publish a preliminary report on its activities under this Act, 
including preliminary recommendations pursuant to paragraph (1); 
(b) Provides copies of the preliminary report to the public upon request. 
 
(2) Public Hearings. – The Advisory Commission shall hold public hearings on the 
preliminary recommendations contained in the preliminary report of the Advisory 
Commission under this subsection. 
 
(D) Final Report. – Not later than three (3) months after the date of the publication of the 
preliminary report under subsection (3), the Advisory Commission shall submit to the 
Congress a final report on the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the 


 
 
Advisory Commission under this section. 
 
(E) Priority to Mandates that are Subject of Judicial Proceedings. – In carrying out this 
section, the Advisory Commission shall give the highest priority to immediately 
investigating, reviewing and making recommendations regarding unfunded mandates 
that are the subject of judicial proceedings, if any. 
 
SECTION 5. Membership. – 
 
(A) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT – The Commission shall be composed of six (6) 
members, four (4) of which, to be appointed by the President as follows: 
(1) Two (2) representatives from local government units; 
(2) Two (2) members from among institutions in education or academia in the fields 
of economics and/or public administration. 
 
(B) The Secretary of Finance and the Secretary of Budget and Management shall 
automatically be members of the commission in ex officio capacity. 
 
SECTION 6. Powers of the Commission. – 
 
(A) Hearings and Sessions. – The Commission may, for the purpose of carrying out this 
Act, hold hearings, sit and act at times and places, take testimony, and receive evidence 
as it considers appropriate.  It may administer oaths or affirmations to witnesses 
appearing before it. 
 
(B) Obtaining Official Data. – The Commission may secure directly from any department 
or agency information necessary to enable it to carry out this Act. Upon request of the 
Commission, the head of that department or agency shall furnish that information to the 
Commission. 
 
(C) Mails. – The Commission may use mails in the same manner and under the same 


 
 
conditions as other departments and agencies of the government. 
 
(D) Contract Authority. – To the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts, the 
Commission may contract with and compensate government and private agencies or 
persons for the purpose of conducting research or surveys necessary to enable the 
Commission to carry out its duties under this Act. 
 
(E) Experts and Consultants. – The Advisory Commission may procure temporary and 
intermittent services of experts or consultants subject to existing civil service rules and 
regulations. 
 
(F) Administrative Support Services. – The Advisory Commission is authorized to hire 
personnel to provide administrative support services. The secretariat shall be headed by 
an executive director, who shall be appointed by the Commissioners. 
 
SECTION 7. Separability Clause. – If any provision or part hereof, is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall 
remain valid and subsisting.   
 
SECTION 8. Repealing Clause. – Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to, or 
inconsistent with, the provision of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended 
accordingly. 
 
SECTION 9. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
 
Approved,