DAVAO CITY—The Regional Development Council (RDC) here is negotiating a P101.1- billion fund inclusion in the national budget next year to finance big-budgeted infrastructure that includes a bridge to the resort island of Samal, the controversial modernization of the Sasa wharf and the completion of road projects leading to tourism sites in the region.
The National Economic and Development Authority here said RDC officers and Congress representatives from Davao region had earlier met Congress leaders and senior government officials holding key positions in the implementing national government agencies to discuss the region’s certified priority projects, and to seek the status of the projects that they have endorsed.
At least four Congressional representatives—Mariano Piamonte of the party-list A Teacher and from Davao del Sur, Anthony del Rosario and Antonio Lagdameo of Davao del Norte, and Mylene Garcia-Albano of Davao City—assured RDC “of their prioritization and continuing funding support for Davao region and Mindanao’s programs and projects,” the Neda said.
Davao del Norte Rep. Rodolfo del Rosario, who heads the RDC here, said the budget consultation with senior government officials was intended to clarify the region’s direction when it identified the priority programs, projects and activities for funding.
“The RDC 11 was able to attain 67-percent and 58-percent budget inclusion rates in the fiscal year [FY] 2014 and FY 2015 General Appropriations Act, respectively, hence, negotiating with our Congressional representatives for higher inclusion rate in the FY 2016 General Appropriations Act has become more imperative,” he said.
RDC 11 Vice Chairman Ma. Lourdes D. Lim said the council endorsed FY 2016 budget proposals amounted to P101.1 billion to cover the projects identified by 30 Davao regional agencies.
“More than 90 percent of this budget proposal shall be for the funding of the region’s infrastructure and social development requirements,” she said.
Among major programs and projects for budgetary appropriations were the “bridge and drainage works, plans and detailed engineering works of the Davao-Samal Bridge Project; roads leading to tourism destination areas, rehabilitation of the Sasa Port, expansion of Babak Port, improvement and rehabilitation of the Davao International Airport facilities, construction of classrooms and titling of school sites.”
The RDC 11 has “strongly advocated” to the Department of Tourism and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) “to complete existing road projects and finance new access roads leading to tourism destinations by 2016; the Department of Energy and National Electrification Administration to finance the energization of sitios by 2015; DPWH and local government units of Davao City and Panabo City to identify access routes to Sasa and Panabo ports, as well as provide funds for the road right-of-way acquisition.”
The RDC also wanted the Department of Transportation and Communications and the DPWH “to consider the development and modernization of Panabo Port as alternate port, in light of work being undertaken for the Davao City Bypass Road and the said port’s complementary role to Sasa Port; the DPWH to consider the inclusion of Davao-Samal Bridge connecting Panabo City to the Island Garden City of Samal as one option in the feasibility study for the said bridge project; the Department of Health to complete the construction of barangay health stations in all barangays by 2016, and finance and complete the rehabilitation of all government hospitals by 2016.”