Capitol planners okay P500M for annual investment plan

The Cebu Provincial Development Council (PDC) has approved a budget of P520 million for the 2016 Annual Investment Plan (AIP).

The biggest allocation, P146.7 million, was made for various road projects, including those listed under the World Bank-funded Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP).

Benigno Cris Lucero, provincial planning and development officer, said the council set aside P97 million as counterpart for P970 million worth of road projects under the program.

The PRDP is a six-year project designed to modernize and make the agri-fishery sector climate-smart and market-oriented. It aims to raise incomes, productivity and competitiveness in the countryside.

Lucero said the PRDP Provincial Management Office has identified nine road links to be included for funding in the 2016 AIP.

These are located in the towns of Tudela, San Francisco, Poro, Tuburan, Sogod, Santander, Alcoy, and Dalaguete.

The council also allotted P110 million for the payment of heavy equipment obtained through a P200-million Land Bank loan.

The 2016 AIP also includes P103 million for subsidy to local government units, with a share of P60 million from the governor, P9 million from the vice governor, and P34 million as an aggregate amount from the board members.

A budget P47 million was appropriated for the purchase of hospital, medical, or dental equipment as well as for the construction, repair, or improvement of health facilities.

The AIP is financed from the 20-percent development fund derived from the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share of the Cebu provincial government.
In the same meeting on Oct. 13, the full council also approved the P133-million proposed budget of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).

The PDRRMO budget will then be endorsed for approval to the Provincial Board as part of the executive department’s proposed 2016 annual budget.

Of the P133 million DRRM fund, P27 million is allocated for insurance premiums of buildings, crops, and volunteers for the province as well as risk insurance of the World Bank.

The amount comprises 31 percent of the DRRM fund, or P40 million, set aside for disaster preparedness. Thirty percent, or P39.9 million, of the total DRRM fund constitutes the Quick Response Fund (QRF). Around P25 million, or 19 percent, is earmarked for prevention and mitigation.

Baltazar Tribunalo Jr., head of the PDRRMO, said the bulk of this amount will be spent on the mainstreaming of DRR in the land use plan of local government units.

The budget also covers the construction, repair, and rehabilitation of dams, embankments, or impounding facilities in the province.

Meanwhile, 13 percent, or P17.5 million, is allocated for the procurement of equipment for disaster response activities while seven percent, or P10 million, is set aside for rehabilitation and recovery.

At present, the PDRRMO has around P47 million in unspent funds, which includes more than P20 million from 2013 to 2014.

By yearend, Tribunalo said they expected the unexpended balance to be at P15 million.

The council agreed to use the amount to augment its QRF, which has been depleted with only P2 million left due to interventions made for farmers affected by the dry spell.