Magpale: Give rehab money to LGUs

Karen Jimeno (right), communications director of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery (PARR) talks with Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale and Rep. Benhur Salimbangon of Cebu’s 4th district before the start of the dialogue with the mayors. (CDN Photo/Junjie Mendoza)

Rather than channeling rehabilitation funds through national government agencies, Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said it would be better if the money are given directly to the local government units to speed up the reconstruction work.

Magpale said the rebuilding of 15 towns and cities in the northern part of the province that were damaged by supertyphoon Yolanda would move faster if the funds will be used to bankroll the plans already drafted by the LGUs.

“I am amenable to that because we know that we are very transparent here with Gov. Junjun (Hilario Davide III). That is our goal here. So if needed that the funds pass through us, we can assure the public,” she said.

Rep. Benhur Salimbangon of Cebu’s 4th district also proposed this during the consultation with officials from the Presidential Assistant on Rehabilitation and Recovery (PARR) two days ago at the Capitol Hall.

During the meeting, PARR communications director Karen Jimeno said their office is mainly tasked to coordinate with LGUs and doesn’t handle the release of the rehabilitation funds from the national government.

LIVELIHOOD

Magpale said she understood the collective frustration of Medellin Mayor Ricky Ramirez and other mayors who “expected that the money will be downloaded directly to them.”

Magpale said the Cebu provincial government is doing everything it can to provide for the affected local government units.

These include a skills training program for affected families on carpentry, plumbing and other construction jobs.

While enrolled in the 15-day program, the beneficiaries will receive P307 for their daily allowance. Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez also lobbied for the direct allocation of funds to typhoon-hit areas.

Romualdez, whose own province bore the brunt of Supertyphoon Yolanda’s wrath last November, said the national government should supervise and ask what is “needed on the ground.”

ACCOUNTABLE

“They should just download [the resources], anyway local officials are accountable since the [Commission on Audit] is there,” Romualdez said.

He said people in the disaster-stricken areas believed that the involvement of the heads of national agencies was slowing down rehabilitation efforts instead of speeding them up.

Romualdez’ position was supported by Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza, who said the national government should trust local government units more since they could do a faster job of helping their own communities.

Former Sen. Panfilo Lacson has been appointed rehabilitation czar to lead efforts to help the ravaged provinces get back on their feet.

President Benigno Aquino III called on the international community to provide more aid, saying the rehabilitation of Yolanda-hit areas remain a priority in his administration./ With Inquirer reports

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