Rather than get bogged down by the municipal council, Daanbantayan Mayor Augusto Corro said he would ask help from Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III to avail of World Bank aid to fund post-Yolanda rehabilitation projects in his town.
“What is happening is unfair to the people of Daanbantayan. I will not bring my complaints to (Davide). I will only ask for help in facilitating (the acquisition of a loan). That is the main purpose,” he said in yesterday’s 888 News Forum.
Corro proposed P885 million worth of rehabilitation projects and is seeking funding from the World Bank under their Support for Strategic Local Development and Investment Projects (S2LDIP).
These projects include a a P500 million drainage system, heavy equipment for P55 million, relocation of municipal hall and wet market for P200 million and P20 million respectively and solid waste management for P70 million, among others.
The World Bank allocated US $250 million for the rehabilitation of Yolanda-hit areas.
Deferred
A local government unit (LGU) only needs to provide a 10 percent counterpart for the total cost of the proposed projects.
The Municipal Development Council (MDC) passed four resolutions that include the endorsement of priority development projects to be funded by the World Bank.
The resolutions also include a request for a loan from Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) as counterpart fund, authorization of Corro to apply for the loan and proposed use of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund to buy a lot for the relocation of the municipal building.
Initially, the resolutions were deferred by the municipal council for further study.
But based on Resolution 478-2014 approved last December 12, seven of nine municipal councilors disapproved the MDC resolutions.
Failure
“This gives me the impression that these (councilors) are not in their right minds,” an emotional Corro said.
The mayor said the disapproval was politically motivated. He asked the council twice to approve the resolutions.
Last Friday, close to 1,000 town residents rallied outside the municipal hall to vent their disappointment over Daanbantayan municipal offiicials’ failure to secure a loan from the World Bank.
It was also the day that the municipal council held their regular session.
Mayor Corro said if the loan is approved, the town can pay it off.
He said Daanbantayan will have to put up P88.5 million as counterpart fund which is payable in 10 years.
Corro said the town can pay P12 million as annual amortization to be sourced from their 20 percent development fund.
“It is really possible,” Corro remarked.
He said the town’s 2014 Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) was P122 million while their income was P18 million, giving the town a running budget of P140 million.
STA FE PAUSES
In the same forum, Sta. Fe Mayor Jose Esgana said he was hesitant about claiming P95.8 million from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) under its Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA) program.
The amount was released by the Department of Budget Management earlier this week as part of P1.9 billion cash aid for typhoon survivors in Cebu who repaired the houses and are not living in danger zones.
Bogo city and eight north Cebu towns will each receive shelter assistance from the national government.
Esgana questioned a provision in the DSWD omnibus guidelines on the distribution of cash assistance.
“I found out that those who earn P15,000 and above are not eligible to receive the aid, even if their houses were totally destroyed. We don’t want charges to be pressed against us. We need to be extra careful,” he said.
Families whose houses were destroyed are to receive P30,000 assistance each, while those with damaged houses will be given P10,000 each.
Esgana said there are 2,000 households from Sta. Fe in Bantayan Island, that will be left out due to the guidelines’ conditions.
He said he will meet the DSWD to discuss the provision and seek a review of the guidelines.
Criteria
Social Welfare Officer Jenifer Abastillas said it is possible for local government units to include beneficiaries who earn P15,000 and above in the distribution of the cash assistance, but this would need approval from their central office.
Abastillas said it was Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman who crafted the recent guidelines.
“Before, the ESA was intended for those with income of P10,000 and below. When supertyphoon Yolanda came, we adjusted it to P15,000 and below so that more could avail,” she said.
She said recipient LGUs were already told to prioritize those who fall under the criteria.
If the LGU has balances left, she said, it may distribute the remaining cash to families who earn higher with authorization from the central office.
So far, only Madridejos town claimed its check for P125.7 million last Monday.
Nine towns will receive ESA funding — Sta. Fe (P95.8 million), Madridejos (P125.7 million), Bantayan (P375.8 million), Daanbantayan (P425.8 million), Medellin (P211.5 million), Tabogon (P103.7 million), Borbon (P99.2 million) and San Remigio (P188.1 million), and Bogo City (P283.6 million).