Former Defense Secretary Gilberto (GIBO) Teodoro, Jr. will work to enable Local Government Units (LGUs) to be as autonomous as possible. This, he stressed, will be specifically down to the barangay level where citizens expect a lot of effective and efficient services and responsibilities from the barangay and its officials.

Gibo Teodoro, a 2022 senatorial aspirant, however said that capacity building at an institutional level cannot be achieved because barangay officials are under-incentivized or not motivated. Incentivizing barangay officials is essential in order for there to be a sense of doing business particularly in this post-pandemic period where there is a need for a lot of capital investments, he said.

Teodoro, a former Tarlac congressman, said empowering LGUs in this sense is part of his legislative priorities to see that the General Appropriations Act is implemented pursuant to the purpose by way of the exercise of the oversight function.