P20M each for every village: Duterte leads first distribution of BDP ‘bonanza’

PRESIDENT Duterte, together with some members of Congress, is set to visit the Eastern Visayas Region today, Thursday, March 18, 2021, to distribute P20 million for each barangay in the region for their socioeconomic development projects after being under the influence and threat of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels for decades.

For this year, Duterte, also the chairman of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), and Congress approved the disbursement of P16.4 billion for the Barangay Development Program (BDP).

In the region, total of 200 barangays will be benefiting from the NTFELCAC’S flagship program with allocation of P20 million each this year.

The President, who will be accompanies by members of his Cabinet and lawmakers representing the region, is also set to meet local chief executives and stakeholders for the implementation of the program.

The P20 million will be earmarked for farm-to-market roads (P12 million); school buildings (P3 million); water and sanitation systems (P2 million); electrification (P1.5 million) and health and sanitation (P1.5 million).

These programs are aimed at addressing issues that communist rebels harp upon in their propaganda and recruitment, such as poverty, isolation, disease, hunger and lack of educational and livelihood opportunities.

Poverty

IN a news statement, National Security Adviser and NTF-ELCAC Vice Chairman Hermogenes Esperon said the poverty incidence in Region 8 was at 42.6 percent.

“This alarming double-digit poverty incidence is indicative of the dire economic situation experience in Region 8, especially in Samar. This historical data set illustrates the gravity of the situation in the region, particularly the World Bank estimates the national poverty rate in the Philippines to be at 19.8 percent in 2020,” Esperon said citing data from the National Economic and Development Authority.

The official added that taking into consideration of the deplorable poverty rate, it is ideally suitable for the Region 8 to be recipient of the NTF-ELCAC’S development programs through BDP and other projects.