TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The Department of Public Works and Highways – Lower Kalinga District Engineering Office (DPWH-LKDEO) disclosed that some fourteen infrastructure projects within the areas of jurisdiction of the agency is still awaiting the release of the funds that had been provided by the government to pursue the significant improvement of the state of infrastructure in some parts of the province.
DPWH-LKDEO officer-in-charge Engr. Ruby Uyam stated that the funds being awaited for release to implement the 14 projects is more than P99 million that will surely help in boosting infrastructure development in the city and municipalities within the agency’s jurisdiction.
She disclosed that the appropriate documents supporting the request for the timely release of the funds had already been transmitted by the DPWH district, regional and central offices to the budget department for review and the subsequent release of the provided funds for the realization of the programmed projects that were included as part of the agency’s priority development projects for this year.
The DPWH-LKDEO official expressed hope that the requested funds will be released the soonest so that the programmed projects will be completed before the end of the year so that the payment of the contractors will not be compromised by the implementation of the cash-based budgeting.
However, Engr. Uyam claimed that under the guidelines for the cash-based budgeting, contractors of the programmed infrastructure projects are required to complete their projects within the year and that they are allowed to process the payments of their accomplishments by the first quarter of next year.
On the other hand, District Engineer Uyam reported that the P478 million projects that had been placed for future release in last year’s budget was already programmed for comprehensive release this year that is why the said infrastructure projects were implemented early this year to continue improving the province’s state of infrastructure, especially in the City of Tabuk and the towns of Pinukpuk and Rizal.
She pointed out that the ongoing projects in various parts of lower Kalinga are now being strictly monitored to ensure that the contractors will be able to completed their awarded projects in the prescribed schedule pursuant to the existing guidelines that had been handed down by the central office to help in the realization of the present administration’s build, build, build program.
She called on the public to bear with the inconveniences that are being caused by the ongoing implementation of major infrastructure projects in the different parts of the province because such inconveniences are just temporary and that the projects that are being prosecuted will translate to more convenience for them in the future once the same are completed.
Uyam stipulated that the provision of funds for the implementation of priority infrastructure projects in the province during the present administration had been instrumental in improving the overall state of infrastructure in most parts of the province because of improved roads and bridges that have allowed people to move around conveniently. By HENT