Agencies, LGUs need to align transition plans for devolution
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has called on national government agencies and local government units (LGUs) in Eastern Visayas to strengthen its coordination to prepare for the Supreme Court ruling that will give more functions to local governments starting 2022.
DBM Eastern Visayas regional director Imelda Laceras said during a virtual orientation on Thursday(August 12) that all departments and agencies of the national government should continue reviewing their respective priorities, strategic plans, and functions to reflect the progressive operationalization of the full devolution of basic services and facilities.
Laceras said several national government agencies (NGAs) already have transition plans that include identifying devolved functions and services, service delivery standards, capacity development strategies for LGUs, a framework for monitoring and performance assessment of LGUs, and organizational effectiveness proposal.
“Some LGUs are now starting their transition plans. They have been asked to prepare their transition plans in close coordination with NGAs. Their plans will serve as guides on the monitoring and performance assessment of LGUs by the NGAs concerned, DBM, and DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government),” Laceras told participants.
Executive Order No. 138 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations mandate all provinces, cities, municipalities, and villages to prepare their devolution transition plans in close coordination with the concerned NGAs to guide them towards the full assumption of devolved functions and services that come with more financial resources.
“This is working progress in the next three years. Let us not lose sight to continue with devolution despite birth pains during the first year of implementation. Through coordination, we can improve, refine and modify the transition,” Laceras added.
The Supreme Court Mandanas-Garcia ruling resulted from the petition made by Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas and former Bataan governor Enrique Garcia Jr. before the Supreme Court on local government shares on internal revenue allotment (IRA).
According to the petitioners, LGU shares should include all national taxes.
The Supreme Court affirmed that local government units are entitled to a “just share” on all national taxes collected and not only from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
At present, the local government’s IRA share comes from 40 percent of national internal revenue taxes collected by the BIR.
With the Mandanas-Garcia ruling implementation in 2022, it is projected that LGUs will have a 27.61 percent increase in the overall IRA shares.
With the increased budget share, the LGUs are expected to be responsible for the funding and delivery of the activities which have been devolved to them under Republic Act 7160, the Local Government Code of 1991, and other subsequent laws.
Among the functions assigned to local governments based on the Local Government Code are agriculture programs, local infrastructure, environmental services, revenue mobilization, health services, maintenance of peace and order, employment facilitation, transportation, tourism, and housing.
(SARWELL Q.MENIANO/PNA)
RDC report shows over 29K ‘Yolanda’ housing units now occupied
TACLOBAN CITY – The Regional Development Council (RDC) in Eastern Visayas on Wednesday (August 11) reported that some 29,422 housing units for victims of Super Typhoon Yolanda are already occupied while 11,266 are ready for occupancy out of the 64,696 target units.
“The remaining 1,279 units still lack electricity and water supply and are not yet ready to be occupied,” the RDC regional project monitoring committee stated in a report posted on the website of the National Economic Development Authority in Eastern Visayas.
After more than seven years, challenges remain in the completion of the post-Yolanda housing projects, according to the region’s highest policymaking body.
“These include delays due to unfavorable weather conditions, lack of manpower and resources deployed on-site, additional works to suit actual field conditions, delayed issuances of permits and licenses from the local governments and other agencies, among many others,” the RDC added.
The council also reported that the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) recorded a 96 percent completion on the Tacloban North Water Supply Project. The system is designed to bring a stable water supply to 21 resettlement sites.
For other resettlement sites in the region, the LWUA reported that 13 projects were completed, 20 are ongoing, 56 are in the pre-construction stage, while two were suspended.
“This was due to a dispute on the ownership of the spring source. Per LWUA, the concerned water districts are negotiating for a new site of their spring water source,” the council added, referring to the suspended water project.
Meanwhile, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) has completed 57 of the 155 electrification projects for the original Yolanda housing project.
Some 42 sites are for identification of the developer, 44 sites have tapping points energized, and 12 are for bidding or construction.
The NEA is in close coordination with the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF)-Yolanda Project Monitoring Office and the NHA (National Housing Authority) to secure the list of awarded beneficiaries for the NHA housing projects, according to the RDC committee.
“The NHA, LWUA, and NEA assured the RDC that they are acting to address the issues they are facing in the completion of the housing units, in coordination with IATF-Yolanda and other concerned entities,” the RDC reported.
“Yolanda,” said to be the strongest typhoon in world history, struck the central Philippines on Nov. 8, 2013 and wreaked havoc on 175 cities and towns in 14 provinces in six regions. The disaster killed more than 6,000 people.
The total damage cost and losses in affected areas reached P101.79 billion, of which P48.79 billion were recorded in Eastern Visayas.
(SARWELL Q. MENIANO/PNA)
Women inmates at the Tacloban city jail receive jabs
Part of the mobile vaccination roll-out of the city gov’t
TACLOBAN CITY-At least 42 women inmates in a jail facility here were administered with vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Thursday (August 12).
The vaccination among women inmates was part of the mobile vaccination roll-out of the city government under Mayor Alfred Romualdez to ensure that more qualified residents of the city would receive the jabs.
Dr. Joedina Gumagay, chief of hospital of the Tacloban City Hospital who led in the vaccination at the Tacloban City Jail, said that inmates should be given priority in the vaccination drive to ensure that COVID-19 would not spread inside the facility.
“God forbid, if one of them will get the infection, it will be easy and fast for COVID-19 to spread that is why, we have to prioritize them in the vaccination,” she said.
Mayor Romualdez, joined by his son, Raymund, witnessed the vaccination inside the jail facility. The said vaccination is considered to be a first in the region.
It was learned that after the women inmates, who received the Sinovac brand, all the current 591 male inmates at the said jail facility would also be given the vaccine.
This campaign of the city government has the full support of the Department of Health (DOH) which has called all local government units to speed up their vaccination drive amid the presence of several variants of concern across the region cited as among the factors for the spike of COVID-19 cases in Eastern Visayas.
In Ormoc City, more than 50 motorcycle-for-hire (MCH) drivers have received their first doses of AstraZeneca on Friday.
The vaccination was held in one of the shopping malls in the city which also aims to vaccinate more people, especially those considered as economic frontliners.
The city government target to vaccinate 2,400 MCH drivers in Ormoc City.
In Borongan City, the Borongan Cathedral was used as a vaccination site on Thursday which accommodated 560 individuals who received the Moderna vaccine.
The provincial capital of Eastern Samar is grappling with COVID-19 cases as the DOH identified the presence of Delta variant.
The DOH has reported on Friday of 147 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the region’s total cases to 38,059 with active cases of 1,184 and 36,444 considered as recovered cases.
Meantime, a 72-year old man from the town of Inopacan in Leyte province was the latest to die in the region due to COVID-19 complications. The region has now 431 deaths due to COVID-19.(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
Gov. Tan envisions P4 billion business district
The Samar Business District will create jobs, generate income
CATBALOGAN CITY- An ambitious and multi-billion peso economic district is being envisioned to be established in the city and is aimed to create thousands of employment and provide economic activities.
The Samar Business District (SBD), covering 70 hectares encompassing six barangays of this city, is being pushed by the provincial government in close coordination with the city government.
Governor Reynolds Michael Tan, who is behind this project, says that the proposed SBD is projected to cost P4 billion and is expected to be completed in four year’s time.
“With the (establishment) of the Samar Business District, we envision that Catbalogan City and the rest of the province will become the center of trade and commerce on Samar Island,” he said.
The 70 hectare of land to be used for the establishment of the SBD will involve reclaimed lots from the sea as Catbalogan is lacking of needed space, Tan said.
And this early, the Samar governor dismissed any possible destruction of marine resources saying they are guaranteeing that no marine lives would be affected for this ambitious project.
The detail of the project like its master plan, however, is still under study, Tan said.
But he said that the area of the proposed SBD was chosen as it is here where a tide embankment is being constructed which aim to address the perennial flooding problem of the city.
“We actually chose the location as we just took advantage of the tide embankment project there. And part of the project is the construction of some pumping stations to address any possible flooding incident,” Tan said.
According to Tan, for the project to materialized, they need at least P4 billion of which the governor has yet to divulge where the provincial government will source its funding.
But Gov. Tan did not hide his excitement on the project considering the potential it will result to the people and to the province.
For one, he said, the proposed SBD will result to job generation.
Tan said that they have proposed that for potential locators of the SBD to hire at least 80 percent of their workers from Catbalogan and other parts of the province.
Also, the city government of Catbalogan, in particular, will directly benefit the project in terms of taxes, the governor said.
On Wednesday (August 11), Gov. Tan delivered his state of provincial address (Sopa) held at the grounds of the provincial capitol building, this city coinciding the 180th founding anniversary of Samar.
During his speech, the governor disclosed what his administration has accomplishments and what he intend to do in his remaining years in office.
Among those he mentioned during his Sopa were the construction of roads, particularly, in remote villages which he said resulted to the substantial decrease of the poverty incidence in Samar.
From a high of 41.8 percent in 2015, various interventions created by the provincial government resulted to the reduction of Samar’s poverty incidence to just 22.1 percent in 2019, he said.
“And I hope to further decrease it by another four percent at least,” Tan said.
He also said that insurgency problem in the province is now addressed with former New People’s Army(NPA) members giving up and returning to the folds of the law.
The crime rate in the province has also considerably dropped from 21.9 percent in 2019 to just 10.5 percent last year.
The governor also said that he intend to continue to upgrade and rehabilitate the Samar Provincial Hospital and the six district hospitals in the province with a new one to be constructed in the town of Pinabacdao.
Gov. Tan asked for cooperation not only among officials of the province but for the public for him to accomplish all his ‘dreams for Samar.’