TACLOBAN CITY– Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez strongly denied allegations that he has not implemented projects in some municipalities under his congressional district.
According to Gomez, who represents Leyte’s fourth district, he finds the allegation not only without basis but unfair considering that this comes from some mayors of the district.
“When you are a public official, you have to be very careful with your statements. You just can’t lie in front of the people just to get the attention. You can be held accountable,” the solon said in a press conference here on Wednesday (July 5).
The fourth congressional district of Leyte covers the city of Ormoc and the municipalities of Albuera, Matag-ob, Kananga, Palompon, Merida, and Isabel.
Rep. Gomez particularly mentioned Mayor Ramon Onate of Palompon who alleged to have said that no projects were implemented by his office.
He said that projects worth over P550 million have been implemented or ongoing projects that will directly benefit the people of Palompon.
The amount of these projects, Gomez, is almost 10 times higher than the development fund of the local government.
The town, it was learned, has only a P45 million development fund allocation for this year.
“Even with a P5 million project for a small municipality like Palompon it can be felt already, what more if it is more than half a billion pesos,” Gomez said.
Gomez said that there are five ongoing projects, one project completed in Palompon funded by his office with three remaining projects funded by regional projects.
For the municipality of Albuera, there are 4 completed projects, 12 ongoing projects, one ongoing project from the regional office, one not yet started, and one suspended project.
For Matag-ob, one project was completed, two are ongoing projects and one has not yet started.
For Kananga, there are two completed projects, six are on-going and two have not yet started.
For Isabel, four projects are ongoing, and one was completed.
For Merida, six projects were already completed, five are ongoing and two projects have not yet started
As of July 3,2023, an overall total of P5.77 billion was released for 106 various projects in the district.
And out of the overall total, 5 of which amounting to P517 million are regional projects while the 101 amounting to P5.25 billion are funded under Leyte’s 4th district.
To date, 10 projects are completed, 72 are ongoing, 12 are suspended and 12 have not yet started.
Gomez said that the huge amount he is pouring to the fourth district is a result of his hard work, his constant communication with leaders of the different agencies, and even from senators.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
