KALSADA Program To Be launched In Bohol

The P6.5-billion project dubbed as KALSADA, one of the biggest nationally-funded projects, will be officially launched here on January 8.

Konkreto at Ayos na Lansangan at Daan Tungo sa Pangkalahatang Kaunlaran (KALSADA) is an innovative devolution program that aims to institutionalize good governance by enabling and shepherding local government units on Local Road Management, according to Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Florencio Abad.

The program will rehabilitate and upgrade provincial roads and transfer these road assets permanently to the provincial government, which will maintain them.

The program will also develop the Provincial Road Network Development Plan (PRNDP) for each province and promote the use of an online open data portal as a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the provincial roads.

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

The P6.5 billion fund has a breakdown per province according to a formula that considers performance and need scores such as previous provincial utilization of SLRF and provincial road network length of the provinces that have complied with the requirements for consideration.

Sec. Abad, DPWH Secretary Jose Singson, and DILG officials will lead the ceremony at 4:00 in the afternoon at the Dagohoy Room of Bohol Tropics Resort.

Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto, who is the head of the Technical Working Group (TWG) of the KALSADA Program, will also lead provincial officials and other guests to the event.

Together with KALSADA program, the New Bohol Tourism Video will also be launched together with the Updates on the Bohol Domestic Fiber Optic Network (Bohol DFON).

Before the KALSADA launching, Sec. Abad is set to meet the local media for a press conference tomorrow, January 7 from 1:30 pm to 3:00 p.m. at JJ’s Seafood Village. (rmn/ecb/PIA7-Bohol)