'Funds for barangay devt released'

From the Manila Times (Jul 7, 2021): 'Funds for barangay devt released' (By Catherine S. Valente)

About 98.9 percent of the P16.44-billion budget of the Barangay Development Program (BDP) had been released to recipient local governments, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said.

The BDP is a program of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac), of which Esperon is the vice chairman. The initiative aims to free Filipinos in conflict zones from the "atrocities and clutches" of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) and enable them to become productive members of society.

"If communities are empowered by means of security, necessary infrastructure, education, economic development and livelihood, the CPP-NPA-NDF will become powerless and can no longer exploit their vulnerabilities," Esperon said.

"This will finally put an end to the 52-year insurgency by bringing sustainable solutions and basic services to war-torn and victimized communities," he added.

The 822 barangay (villages) that received the funds were former rebel communities that government security forces have cleared from 2016 to 2019 by dismantling the communist group that exercised control over them.

A report on the status of the Local Government Support Fund to BDP revealed that P16.24 billion were allotted to 812 barangay.

"Out of 822 barangay, 80 percent are IP (Indigenous People) communities, 75 percent of which are mostly situated in Mindanao, which received both infrastructure and non-infra projects from BDP," Esperon said.

He explained that the BDP was one of President Rodrigo Duterte's projects to provide for the "physical needs of the barangay."

Esperon said that livelihood, waterworks and sanitation programs were given priority, aside from the construction of farm-to-market roads and schools.

The P16.44-billion budget for the 822 beneficiary barangay were directly released to the provincial or city governments.

The Department of Budget and Management provided the guidelines in the release of funds for hundreds of villages in nine regions under Local Budget Circular 135 and 135-A.

Under the program, each barangay will receive P20 million worth of projects, broken down into P12 million for concrete farm-to-market roads, P3 million for school buildings, P2 million for water and sanitation, P1.5 million for health stations, and P1.5 million for livelihood assistance.

Out of the 2,276 approved projects, government will be spending some P11.61 billion for farm-to-market roads, P2.4 billion for water and sanitation system, P492 million for health stations, P570 million for school buildings, P482.4 million for rural electrification, P219.4 million for repairs and other infrastructure projects, P329 million for agricultural and vocational training, P110.24 million as financial assistance to indigent individuals and families, P16 million for housing, P25 million for Covid-19 vaccination program, and P500,000 for a non-infrastructure project.

The remaining P200 million are to be distributed to Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and Mimaropa (Mindoro Occidental, Mindoro Oriental, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan).

The BDP is the NTF-Elcac's hallmark program that aims to bring development to former conflict-prone communities.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/07/07/news/national/funds-for-barangay-devt-released/1805990