DILG Okays Release Of P35.5M Road Upgrade For Cebu Province

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release to Cebu province the P35.5 million intended for road improvements under the Kalsada program.

In its letter dated March 18, the DILG informed DBM Secretary Butch Abad that the Province of Cebu has already complied with the requirements set in the special provisions of the 2016 General Appropriations Act along with the Province of Batanes.

Dubbed “Konkreto at Ayos na Lansangan at Daan Tungo sa Pangkalahatang Kaunlaran” (Kalsada), the DBM program is aimed at institutionalizing good governance by enabling and shepherding local government units on local road management.

Cebu was among the 73 out of 81 provinces selected by DBM that earmarked P6.5 billion for road rehabilitation in the 2016 P3-trillion national budget.

Provinces were selected based on their compliance with the DILG’s Seal of Good Financial Housekeeping and submission of their Local Public Financial Management Assessment Report to the DBM.

Driven by the aspiration of providing “Kalambuan sa Matag Sugbuanon (Progress for Everyone)”, Gov. Hilario Davide III’s administration centers its policies on participatory governance, transparency and good fiscal practice.

As a result, the Cebu province won the Seal of Good Governance of the DILG for two consecutive years starting in 2014. In the same years, the province also topped the list of richest provinces of the country in the Annual Financial Report of the Commission on Audit.

The offices of Provincial Engineering and Planning and Development identified the 3.7-kilometer portion of Barangay Dakit, Bogo City to Barangay, Nipa Cayaan Tabogon road in northern Cebu as the project beneficiary.

A feasibility study by the two offices shows that the Bogo-Tabogon beltway is among the busiest lanes in the province, serving as link to numerous businesses and tourist spots in the north.

Under the program, the province is required to provide a counter fund of more than P15 million, raising the total amount to at least P50M.

A whopping P338.5 million road improvements stretching to 17 kilometers await Cebu province in next year’s Kalsada program.

By Kelvin Cañizares

www.cebu.gov.ph