P6.5 B approved for road rehab in 73 provinces

The government has approved the release of P6.5 billion for the rehabilitation of roads in 73 of 81 provinces across the country.

Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad said the amount has been earmarked by the department in the 2016 General Appropriations Act and forms part of the total P3-trillion national budget for this year – an election year.

Abad, a stalwart of the ruling Liberal Party, clarified that not all 81 provinces were recipients of the road rehabilitation fund, with eight local government units apparently left out “based on performance.”

“DBM: Allocation of funds is performance-based; provinces were chosen based on compliance with good governance standards,” read the sub-title of DBM’s Jan. 3 press release, entitled: “Gov’t to spend P6.5 B for rehab of provincial roads in 73 provinces.”

“These qualified provinces have not only met good governance standards and social development benchmarks, they have also established monitoring and evaluation mechanisms,” Abad was quoted as saying.

Local government units from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, especially elected officials belonging to the LP and its administration coalition, are awaiting the release of these funds in time for the synchronized elections.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/01/04/1539043/p6.5-b-approved-road-rehab-73-provinces