Manila, March 3 -- Batangas Vice Governor Hermilando Mandanas and the Philippine Councilors League (PCL) on Tuesday filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC), seeking the full implementation of the automatic release of local government units' (LGUs) share from taxes.

In their 32-page petition, Mandanas and PCL sought clarification and the enforcement by the tribunal of the constitutional mandate of automatic release of the national tax allocation (NTA) to LGUs.

The petitioners asked the SC to declare null and void all "acts, practices, policies and mechanisms" of the national government that treat the NTA for LGUs as subject to the General Appropriations Act (GAA) before it can release the share in national taxes.

They claimed the...