NEDA sees CVisayas riding

atop public spending boom

CEBU CITY, March 16 (PIA)—Surfing on the popularity and the real promise of the Duterte Administration’s “Build, Build, Build,” Central Visayas Regional Development Council (RDC) continue to plan and dream big, seeing its projects getting the best of the government’s public spending in the last five years.

National Economic Development Authority (NEDA-7) Region 7 head Efren Carreon bared during the latest full council meeting held at the Villa Montebello Hotel that in 2018, that the RDC owned a 35% increase in funds used for its priority projects compared to last year’s 26.4%.

This means as the RDC’s endorsed 153 million worth of projects, the region earned over P44 million, its biggest funding from the government’s General Appropriations Act (GAA) since then.

Normally, the RDCs in the country endorse projects proposed which regional leaders identify as priority and this would partly form as the basis of the allocations at the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for release to the region through the national government agencies concerned and implementing these identified projects.

In 2018, the national government funded through the GAA some P44,293.21 of the RDC’s identified priority projects.

In 2018, the RDC-7 proposed some P153, 254,510 in infrastructure, social development and economic development projects.

The government allotted P44,293.21 which was released through national government agencies under the infrastructure, social development and economic clusters, form 28.9% for the regional wish list.

In infrastructure alone, from P15 million funded for the region’s endorsed projects in 2015, the funding increased to almost P30 million in 2018, a proof of the Build, Build Build.

In comparison, the RD in 2017 endorsed some P 112, 806. 56 in its identified priority projects, but the government appropriated in the GAA some P 32, 306, 320.

This forms only some 26.4% of the total projects which the region proposed.

The government through the GAA funded 18 million in RDC endorsed infrastructure, of the P69 million it endorsed for funding.

In further 2016, the RDC pushed for P 96, 535, 130.

But the national government in those years could only give P25, 348, 550, pegging  28.8% of the proposed amount in projects.

The government funded P15 million infrastructure of its P29 million endorsed for funding in 2016.

In 2015, the RDC proposed some P 61, 334, 710 projects while the GAA funded only a little over P27 million, Central Visayas getting some 43.7% of the share.

Infrastructure spending in 2015 reached P15 million of the RDC endorsed 22 million project funds.

The NEDA tracking also unwittingly showed the disparity in public spending which the two administrations have committed.

It was only during Duterte’s time that the GAA allocations for these identified impact projects in the regions get over a hundred million allocation. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)