PARACELIS, Mountain Province – The provincial government turned over infrastructure projects worth at least seventeen million and five hundred thousand pesos (17.5 million pesos) to beneficiaries on two occasions last week.
Last June 10, provincial employees led by governor Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr. turned over a newly completed Open Gymnasium and a concreted farm-to-market road (FMR) the community people of Sadsadan, Bauko.
The said open gymnasium, worth P5 million, is the first infrastructure project to be funded by the Special Education Fund (SEF) of the provincial government. It is to be noted that the increase of the SEF collection was due to the taxes collected from the HECDOR-Sabangan, Inc. On hand to accept the project were teachers and PTA officers of the Sadsadan Trail Elementary School.
Barangay officials likewise accepted the road concreting works done on a strategic portion of the motorway that slices through the Bauko vegetable farms.
Last Friday, three more projects were handed over to community people in Paracelis. Another open gym was inaugurated at Poblacion, Paracelis together with two road improvement projects along the Fontanilla farm to market road which was funded by the loan of the provincial government and the Poblacion-Bacarri provincial road that was implemented through the financial assistance from the Special Local Road Fund (SLRF).
Provincial Engineer Edward Likigan said that SLRF is the 5% LGU share on the Motor Vehicle Users’ Charge (MVUC) Law or RA 8794 apportioned to provincial and city governments on the basis of vehicle population and size of the road network under their jurisdictions. The fund is used exclusively for road maintenance, improvement of drainage, traffic management and installation of road safety devices. The LGUs use the funds to augment their limited road maintenance budget. One of the criteria for the availment of the SLRF is the LGU should be a recipient of the seal of Good House keeping.
Likigan added that the province is one of the few LGU’s to be afforded its share because its good implementation record.
On the twin occasions, Lacwasan urged the people to maintain and be responsible in sustaining the structures for the coming generations to savor. “You are lucky that your areas were among those given the projects. I hope you would also do your part by taking care of these,” the governor stressed.
During the Paracelis visit, ground breaking ceremonies for two multi-million projects were scheduled. The 70 million KALSADA funded road improvement project along the Poblacion-Bacarri road was ceremoniously opened last Friday morning while opening ceremonies for the 41 million PRDP assisted Poblacion—Bantay road improvement works is about to start as of press time. Expected to give messages in the short program are Mayor Avelino Amangyen, Governor Bonifacio Lacwasan, Jr., and Regional Executive Director Lorenzo Caranguian of the Department of Agriculture – Car.
By Alfred Macalling and Angel Baybay
