Senate tackles P8-B 'Paglaum fund'
The Senate will tackle today on second reading a bill allocating P8 billion to rehabilitate areas destroyed and damaged by last year's typhoon “Frank.”
Western Visayas leaders hope that the bill will be passed before the first anniversary of the disaster on June 21.
Sen. Edgardo Angara, principal sponsor of Senate Bill 5064, will deliver a sponsorship speech during the Senate's session that will be attended by officials from Western Visayas, said Raul Banias, Presidential Assistant for Western Visayas and executive director of Task Force Bangon Panay.
The House earlier passed House Bill 4824 which allocates P8 billion to finance the reconstruction and the rehabilitation of the provinces of Iloilo, Antique, Aklan, Capiz, Guimaras and Negros Occidental, and the cities of Iloilo and Bacolod which suffered heavy damages after the typhoon triggered the worst flooding in the region in recent years.
The bill also provides for the creation of a multi-agency commission headed by the chair of the National Disaster Coordinating Council to oversee the rehabilitation programs.
Officials in the region had earlier called on the national government to find and release funds for repair and rehabilitation project warning of the possibility of another disaster when the rainy season sets in.
President Macapagal on Arroyo on March 28 ordered the release of P481 million as emergency funds to start the rehabilitation projects.
Banias said these funds are part of the “Paglaum Fund” provided by the bill.
The P481 million will be allocated to major repair and construction projects including the replacement of the Tigum Bridge in Cabatuan, Iloilo (160 million); replacement of the Tubang Bridge in Maasin, Iloilo (P10 million); replacement of the Daja Bridge in Maasin, Iloilo (P10 million); replacement of the substructure of B. Aquino Bridge in Leon, Iloilo (P40 million); and replacement of the substructure of Camanggahan Bridge in Guimbal, Iloilo (P60 million)
The funds will also be used for the dredging of Aklan River (P100 million) and the Dungon Creek in Iloilo City (P 50 million).
Portions of the fund will be spent for the repair and rehabilitation of the Pototan Road Slip (Nautical Highway) in Pototan, Iloilo P30 million) and the Misi - Tampucao Bridge in Lambunao, Iloilo (P21 million).
But Mayor Arcadio Gorriceta of Pavia town in Iloilo, one of the worst hit areas by flooding, complained that some vital infrastructure damaged by the typhoon were excluded in the allocation of the P481 million initial fund.
Gorriceta said in an interview that the repair of the bridge connecting the villages of Cabugao Norte and Cabugao Sur in his municipality was excluded even if only P1 million was needed.
He said the 40-meter steel bridge which was swept away by rampaging waters by around 100 meters from its original position is a vital network connecting the town of Pavia to Leganes and Jaro District in Iloilo City.
But Banias said the bridge while needing repairs is not considered among the main priorities in the release of the funds.