RDC 7 to pull out proposals for 2019, to lobby bigger funds

RDC 7 Chair Kenneth Cobonpue says they will seek Central Visayas lawmakers to lobby for bigger budget

The Regional Development Council (RDC) 7 will pull out all project proposals of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) 7 for 2019 and endorse a new list of projects that they will ask Cebu congressmen to endorse.

A DPWH 7 official who refused to be named said they submitted project proposals for 2019 worth P92 billion, but he doesn’t know the decision of their central office.

Infrastructure Development Committee (IDC) Chairman Glenn Soco said Cebu, with a large economy, deserves to have more projects than other regions. He discovered that DPWH in Manila approved only P7 billion for DPWH 7, while other regions have P40 billion and P60 billion.

RDC 7 Chairman Kenneth Cobonpue said they will seek assistance from all congressmen in Central Visayas (Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor and Negros Oriental) during the RDC Full Council meeting on Sept. 15.

Former DPWH 7 Director Ador Canlas refused to comment on Soco’s allegation that his agency was under-performing when he was its Central Visayas chief resulting to a less budget for 2019.

There are a total of 76 projects for Central Visayas, which were approved by DPWH in Manila in the amount of P7 billion. These are mostly for flood control projects, road opening, and road maintenance.

The P7 billion that is supposed to be allocated by DPWH for Central Visayas in 2019 are for Bohol (P596.97 million), Negros Oriental (P1.45 billion), Siquijor (P281.2 million), and Cebu (P4.79 billion).

The big projects in Cebu include a flood mitigation structure at Subangdaku, Mandaue City (P200 million); asphalt overlay in the Cebu North Road (P115.5 million); another asphalt overlay for Cebu North Road (P139.3 million); flood control improvement in Tipolo, Mandaue City (P200 million); Metro Cebu Expressway (P300 million); Mactan Circumferential Road (P52.2 million); Cebu-Balamban Transcentral Highway (P120 million).

“We will work to increase the budget during the public hearing,” Rep. Benhur Salimbangon of Cebu’s 4th District said.

Rep. Peter Calderon (Cebu 7th District) said that based on the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2019 as submitted to the Lower House, Cebu was allocated with P10 billion or more under the DPWH budget.

“If we include the other provinces of Region 7, it should be much more than the P7 billion that the IDC is saying,” Calderon said.

Rep. Wilfredo Caminero said that in his 2nd District alone, they have proposed P4 billion worth of projects for 2019 funding.

For his part, DPWH Assistant Secretary Dimas Soquilon said his agency will receive recommendations for project funding from regional offices, but the final approval is based on evaluation and priorities.

Soguilon’s statement was echoed by Cebu 5th District Engineer Yusoph Rasuman who divulged that they recommended road and bridge projects for Danao City and ten towns worth P5 billion for 2019 funding, but only P900 million was considered by the DPWH central office.