Ping cool to LGUs getting direct access to Yoly funds

Secretary Panfilo Lacson (left) Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery delivers his keynote address before the participants of the 8th Philippine National Health Research System Week Celebration during their opening at the Radisson Blu Hotel last Tuesday night.(CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

SECRETARY Panfilo Lacson said he will recommend to President Aquino to allow local government units to have direct access to the P171 billion rehabilitation funds to speed up the recovery of areas devastated by supertyphoon Yolanda.

“If we leave the implementation of the plan to the central government, it will take even longer,” Lacson told reporters at the sidelines of a forum on healthcare issues in disaster and emergency management.

Lacson, the presidential assistant on rehabilitation and recovery, was in Cebu Tuesday night where he spoke in the forum.

Lacson said that LGUs in turn must have an “absorptive capacity” and be able to implement projects.

“Eyes will still be kept on them but they will really be the ones who will implement whatever projects they have in mind. Anyway, they’re already responsible enough,” said Lacson.

The P171-billion master recovery plan for Yolanda-affected areas in the country was already submitted to the President. Cebu’s P12.2 billion recovery plan was signed off by Cabinet secretaries last July 25.

“We are really hoping this will be approved sooner than later. With that, we will have an increase in resources in the Yolanda corridor,” said Lacson.

He said all citizens should be “guardians in the implementation of projects.”

A map-based monitoring platform called Electronic Monitoring Platform Accountability and Transparency Hub for Yolanda (Empathy) will be used to keep track of project implementation.

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