BONTOC, Mountain Province—Nine road sections in different parts of this landlocked province will be improved this year, Governor Bonifacio Lacwasan Jr. said.
Four road projects will be funded under the Department of Agriculture’s foreign-assisted Philippine Rural Development Project, Lacwasan said. Three projects will be funded from the Kalsada program of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, while two will be funded under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, he added.
The 4 PRDP projects include the P65-million Banata-Sumey-ang-Sadsadan road, which already has the green light from the provincial government; the P92-million Besao-Nacawang road; the P104-million Nacawang-Mabalite road; and the P40-million Poblacion-Bantay farm to market road in Paracelis, Lacwasan disclosed.
The governor explained the Besao-Nacawang, Nacwang-Mabalite and Poblacion-Bantay farm to market roads are still subject to the regular bidding processes for government projects.
In the pipeline are three road projects under the DILG’s Kalsada program that include the P79-million Sinto-Paktil, Pua road in Bauko; the P70-million Poblacion-Aba-Bacarri road in Paracelis; and the P30-million Nacawang-Panabungen-Maliteg road in Besao, Lacwasan said.
The provincial government is still completing the documents needed to release the funds for these projects and have it bid out before their construction, he added.
Using the OPAPP funds, Lacwasan said they sourced P50 million for the improvement of the Besao, Mountain Province to Tubo, Abra road via Tambuan in Besao; P40 million for the concreting and improvement of the Natonin-Tubyoy provincial road in Natonin; and P1.5 million for post-harvest equipment support to agricultural production for Paracelis town.
“We have to work extra hard to facilitate the release of the allocated funds for the realization of the programmed projects,” Lacwasan stressed. “We really need more funds to improve the state of infrastructure that will inter-connect the rural areas to the urban centers not only of the province but also to the neighboring provinces.
“This would enhance the economic activities of our people that will translate to the upliftment of the living condition of our people through inclusive growth and development,” he added.
For the PRDP projects that require counterpart funding from the provincial government, the local chief executive claimed the counterpart of
The province’s counterpart funds for the four PRDP projects are already included in Mountain Province’s approved 2017 budget, Lacwasan said. This ensures the smooth and uninterrupted implementation of the major road improvement projects “that will help spur economic development in the far-flung villages of the province once the projects will be completed in due time,” he added.
Lacwasan said he will continue to ask concerned government agencies to allocate more funds for other key infrastructure projects in Mountain Province “that will eventually propel overall development and inclusive growth in the future.”