TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The local government recently received from the budget department some P93.5 million as advance internal revenue allotment (IRA) that will be used to enhanced the city’s aggressive campaign against the spread of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID) 2019 and sustain its efforts to free the city from the deadly virus during the prevalence of the extended Luzonwide enhanced community quarantine and beyond.
Mayor Darwin C. Estrañero said that bulk of the funds will be used by the local government in the procurement of relief goods that will be distributed to the over 29,700 households in the city in several waves to allow them to be able to cope with the effects of the quarantine while awaiting the situation to normalize.
He claimed that what is important for the local government is to be able to provide relief assistance to the households because the people, rich or poor, had been heavily impacted by the stoppage of most of the economic activities and established sources of livelihood of the people who were compelled to stay at home during the prescribed quarantine period.
Republic Act (RA) 11469 or the Bayanihan To Heal As One Act of 2020 mandated the national government to provide assistance to cities and municipalities in the form of the immediate release of their advance one month IRA while the provinces were given one half of their one month IRA as similar aid for the said local governments to be able to undertake the necessary programs, projects and activities (PPAs) for their anti-COVID operations at the height of the Luzonwide enhanced community quarantine.
The local chief executive claimed that the timely release of the government’s assistance to local governments will definitely provide them with the needed resources to sustain the implementation of their anti-COVID operations, especially that the city remains to be free from the deadly virus and that city officials and health authorities do not want to ruin the gains of their efforts in maintaining such status.
According to him, the problem being encountered by the local government is the reported inadequate supply of noodles and canned goods in the city which hampers the continuous distribution of relief assistance to the households, especially the vulnerable and marginalized sectors of the city.
He explained that in case that there will be inadequate supply of noodles and canned goods, the option that will be available for the local government is to distribute rice to the households and a little cash so that they will have something to temporarily use for the purchase of their desired goods from available sari-sari stores in their barangays to allow the said establishments to also earn income that will sustain their operation during the quarantine period.
Tabuk is a component city of Kalinga and one of the cities in the country with a huge land area that is still available for development considering that it is one of the areas in the Cordillera as the expansion site of the region.
Part of the guidelines of the released advance IRA of local government is for the same to spent for anti-COVID operations during the quarantine period and that whatever amount that will not be spent will be returned to the national coffers.
By HENT
