Part to combat insurgency problem
TACLOBAN CITY — The province of Northern Samar has become the first in Eastern Visayas to fully complete its 2024 Support to Barangay Development Program (SBDP) projects funded under the Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Northern Samar Provincial Office announced.
The provincial office reported that all projects implemented in the municipalities of Gamay, Mapanas, and Lope De Vega under the FY 2024 SBDP-UA have reached full physical completion within just five months after the release of funds—a significant milestone in the delivery of development support to former conflict-affected communities.
Each local government unit (LGU) received P5 million per project, credited directly to their accounts by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) through the Notice of Authority to Debit Account Issued (NADAI) on December 5, 2024.
The projects include, in Gamay, the opening and concreting of roads in Barangays Anito, Cade-an, Guibuangan, and Malidong; Lope De Vega, provision of renewable energy-based electrification for Barangay Lower Caynaga; and Mapanas, concreting of a farm-to-market road in Barangay San Jose.
The DILG Provincial Office confirmed that Certificates of Completion (COCs) have already been issued for the finished projects and will be submitted to the regional and national offices for validation and audit.
The projects form part of the SBDP, the flagship initiative of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), which aims to bring basic infrastructure and development programs to communities formerly influenced by insurgency.
Earlier in 2024, Northern Samar received an initial P2.5 million per project for 167 barangays, also under the SBDP. These were followed by the P5-million UA releases in December for another set of 167 projects, totaling 334 SBDP sub-projects implemented across the province this year.
According to DILG Northern Samar Provincial Director Atty. Danilo Laguitan, LGUs in Gamay and Mapanas completed both sets of projects—the P2.5 million and P5 million tranches—ahead of schedule.
Lope De Vega has one remaining project under the P2.5M batch, currently at 61–90% physical completion.
Remarkably, LGU-Gamay also became the first municipality in Northern Samar to complete its liquidation process, returning unspent balances to the national government via the Bureau of the Treasury—demonstrating exemplary compliance with fiscal responsibility standards.
The DILG Northern Samar office reaffirmed its commitment to continue supporting LGUs in project implementation and evaluation, with a focus on sustainability, transparency, and effective public service delivery.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
