MANKAYAN, Benguet – The municipal government will aggressively pursue the construction of the P50-million evacuation center within a 2,000-square meter property of the municipality right after the lifting of the prevailing election ban on the implementation of public works projects to give way for the conduct of the May 9, 2022 synchronized national and local elections.
Mayor Frenzel Ayong stated that the initial fund of P25 million was already downloaded by the State-owned Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to the municipal government making the implementation of the said noble project within the jurisdiction of the municipality.
He claimed there are some individuals who had been trying to delay the implementation of the project which was scheduled to start early this year but he will ensure such tactics will not prevail after the elections because the municipality really needs the project to boost its disaster risk reduction and management.
Mayor Ayong expressed his gratitude to Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. and Benguet caretaker Congress representative Eric G. Yap for sourcing the funds from the PAGCOR for the realization of the municipal government’s overdue aspiration to have a modern evacuation center and multipurpose building that could be used to host activities in the locality.
Aside from Mankayan, the other recipient of a similar project is Buguias, which is also expected to implement the project after the enforcement of the prevailing election ban.
The municipal chief executive underscored it is the first time the municipality received such a huge amount of money for a high impact development project that will be beneficial in addressing the disaster risk reduction and management concerns of the municipality for a decade now, apart from ensuring an evacuation center for victims and natural and man-made calamities could be accommodated so as not to disrupt the conduct of classes and other gatherings in schools and other public buildings in the municipality.
He reported that the municipality is lucky to have been chosen as one of the recipients of a very important project which will allow it to maximize the use of its limited resources for the enhancement of the delivery of basic services and implement other high impact projects that will partly address the needs of the residents in the town’s 12 barangays.
Mankayan is both a vegetable-producing and a mining town with 12 upland barangays being the source of quality highland vegetables sold at the various markets in the province and Metro Manila, while its 12 lower barangays host large-scale mining companies and small-scale miners.
Further, Mankayan is also one of the five first-class municipalities and one of the 3 towns in the province that derive most of its resources from the operation of mining companies.
