P35M oil spill rehab fund released
The national government recently released P35 million for the province of Guimaras as part of its oil spill rehabilitation fund. The P35 million is the second trance of funds released for the province. Last year P5 million was released.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Regional Director Teresita Rosales said the P35 million is part of the fund intended by the national government for the rehabilitation of the island-province which was affected by last year's oil spill.
Of the P35 million, P18 million will go to the cash for work program, P10 million for the livelihood program, P2.4 million for the salaries of community facilitators and the remaining P4.6 million will go the administrative cost.
The fund for the cash for work program will be turned over to the Guimaras provincial government while the livelihood fund will be released to the five municipalities affected by the oil spill.
Rosales said the department along with the provincial and municipal mayors in Guimaras would sign a memorandum of agreement on how to implement the program covered by such funding. The MOA will be signed on December 18, 2007.
She explained that the MOA provides that the DSWD has the right to terminate or take back the project covered by such funding should the municipal government or recipients of the program violate what is stipulated in the program of work. The fund should be spent in the program of work and not on anything else, Rosales said.
In the same MOA, the local government is required to submit a monthly liquidation of whatever funds they received out of the oil spill rehabilitation funding. The department will also conduct inspection among the projects particularly in livelihood aspect, said Rosales.
In the livelihood fund, the municipality of Nueva Valencia which is hardly hit by the oil spill will receive P5 million, Sibunag P1.8 million, San Lorenzo P1.4, Buenavista P1.2 and P600,000 for Jordan.
Rosales said the MOA would serve as a guide to ensure the implementation of projects covered by the release and same time it will serve as guide on how to do the implementation of the oil spill rehabilitation program.