Davide to arrange meeting between Corro, councilors

Nine barangay captains allied with Mayor Augusto Corro visited Davide and Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale yesterday

GOV. Hilario Davide III will arrange this week a meeting between Daanbantayan councilors and their mayor and vice mayor to resolve the issue over a World Bank grant worth millions.

“Mas maayo nga magabot sila. Akong imbitaron sila kay mao sad pud ang letter ni Mayor (Augusto) Corro, (It’s better that they talk. I will invite them, as requested by the mayor in his letter)” said Davide.

Nine barangay captains allied with the mayor visited Davide and Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale yesterday to seek their intervention on the conflict, which has caused inconvenience among the constituents.

Davide said he will try to convince both parties to come up with an agreement.

Bakhawan Barangay Captain Bernardito Luche said they hope the councilors will think of the welfare of the people.

He said that at present, barangay captains who are in the frontline cannot sleep during bad weather as their areas are still vulnerable to flooding.

“Magbagyo gani ang Samar igo gyud mi (Whenever there’s a storm in Samar, we are affected),” said Luche.

He said Daanbantayan residents who support Corro’s projects held their third rally last Friday outside the session hall to urge seven of the nine councilors to support the mayor’s plan.

“I am convinced the mayor’s plan is for the good of the town,” Davide said after meeting with the barangay captains yesterday.

He said the terms of the transactions are very liberal as World Bank will shoulder 90 percent of the total amount of the project and the town’s counterpart only 10 percent.

Daanbantayan is one of the 16 local government units (LGU) that can enjoy World Bank’s $250 million grant.

Under the World Bank’s Support for Strategic Local Development and Investment (SSLDI) project, Daanbantayan only needs to put up 10 percent of the projects’ total estimated cost. The grant takes care of the rest.

Counterpart

This means that the town will only put up P88.5 million counterpart fund for the World Bank to grant them P796.5 million.

Corro plans a total of P885 million for the town’s drainage system, heavy equipment, relocation of municipal hall and wet market, solid waste management, rehabilitation of bus terminal, storage facilities, rehabilitation of old public market and modernization of Rural Health Unit 1.

But the Municipal Council did not grant him the authority to apply for the SSLDI, a major requirement of the grant.

In their prepared statements, the seven councilors said there was no prior consultation, no detailed plan on the project and no back-up plan since World Bank grant is only good until April 2016. They also the proposed project will not benefit the majority of their constituents.

But Corro said the project was first passed in mass motion in the Municipal Development Council (MDC) attended by opposition councilor Juanito Ybañez.

He said consultant Adonis Compendio attended the municipal council session when the plan was presented to answer all their technical queries.

He said the project has timeline, which indicates the date it will be completed. So there is no reason that it will go beyond April 16.

Luche said their municipal hall sits on the seashore, which is considered a danger zone.