SOCCSKSARGEN Region is set to receive Php 1.24 billion from the Php 16.4 billion barangay development fund allotted by the national government for the implementation of the Executive Order No. 70 this year.
Also dubbed as the Whole of Nation Approach program, EO 70 aims to end communist-armed conflict in the country.
A total of 62 barangays in the Region originally cleared and identified by the National Task Force – End Local Communist-Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) for CY 2020 will receive Php 20 million each as support to barangay development programs (SBDP) under the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF).
Of the 62 barangays, one is located in the Municipality of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato Province and 12 from the Municipality of Columbio, Sultan Kudarat Province. Other recipient barangays are from the towns of Alabel (4), Kiamba (2), Maasim (4), and Malapatan (3) in Sarangani Province.
In Cotabato Province, 36 barangays will receive the barangay support fund located in the towns of Antipas (1), Arakan (5), Kidapawan City (7), Magpet (10), Makilala (5), President Roxas (5), and Tulunan (3).
The Php 20 million LGSF subsidy will fund the implementation of barangay development projects, which include farm-to-market roads, school buildings, water and sanitation systems, health stations, rural electrification; reconstruction, rehabilitation, repair or other similar projects; agricultural, livelihood, and technical vocational trainings and projects, and Assistance to Indigenous individuals or families, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) XII Regional Director Josephine Cabrido-Leysa, CESO III said.
More than 200 of the said projects were proposed and submitted by the barangays to DILG XII during the third quarter of last year and were validated by the Department’s engineers from its Project Development Management Unit (PDMU). The Unit started its orientation on the implementation of the barangay projects with local officials of recipient barangays since February 18.
To expedite the project implementation, members of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) XII passed a resolution directing recipient LGUs to fast track the submission of their technical requirements for the prompt release of their SBDP funds during the Council’s first quarter virtual meeting last February 19.
Early this month, the DILG XII has also convened its local government units and other partner government agencies to finalize the plans and strategies in localizing EO 70 under various clusters, including the Local Government Empowerment, Basic Services, and Sectoral Unification, Capacity Building, Empowerment, and Mobilization where the Department serves as Cluster Head; and E-CLIP and Amnesty, and Localized Peace Engagement Clusters where it serves as Co-Lead together with the Department of National Defence (DND) and Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), respectively.
DILG-Central Office will host a virtual meeting for its Regional and field officers this February 26, Friday, to provide updates and discuss concerns with regards to the implementation of SBDP.
