NegOr mayor seeks approval of ELCAC budget in Congress

MABINAY, Negros Oriental, April 30 (PIA) -- The chief of the Municipal Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (MTF ELCAC) here is hoping for the approval of the P16-B budget allocation for the Barangay Development Programs (BDPs) of the National Task Force (NTF) on ELCAC.

Mabinay Mayor and MTF ELCAC Chair Joeterry Uy giving her message during the conduct of Serbisyo Caravan in Brgy. Luyang on April 28, 2021. She emphasized that the activity is a testament of government's commitment to bring services to communities affected by insurgency. (ral/PIA7-NegOr) 

Mabinay Mayor and MTF ELCAC Chair Joeterry Uy said the budget would help fund high-impact projects that would help address issues and concerns that cause insurgency in their area. 

“Para man ni sa komunidad na mga proyektuha. Para ni man ni sa tanan lungsuranon (na) maka-avail ani labi na ang identified ELCAC (barangays) wherein na low morale sila. Nagdahom sila na walay gobyerno (This is intended for the projects of the community. Residents in ELCAC identified barangays will finally be able to avail of these projects. These people have low morale because they feel they are left out by the government),” Uy said.

“I do hope ug atong giampo na mapasa gyud ni. During sa Dagyawan naa naman to identified projects from national offices. Hopefully maaprubahan ang mao na budget (I do hope that this budget will be approved. Some national government offices already identified projects during the Dagyawan),” she added, referring to the "Dagyawan sa Barangay: Talakayan ng Mamamayan" held in their municipal covered court last year.

Dagyawan is an avenue for dialogue between national government agencies and residents of communities affected by communist insurgency to discuss the issues and concerns related to insurgency and come up with solutions to address these problems.

The event was attended by village officials of barangays Luyang, Samak, and Bagtic which are the priority areas in Mabinay for the government’s convergence efforts to end insurgency.

A total of P20-M was earmarked to fund the projects proposed by the barangay officials of these villages which will help uplift the lives of their constituents.

Philippine Army 302nd Infantry Brigade Commander Col. Leonardo Peña urges residents of Brgy. Luyang in Mabinay town to support the approval of the P16-B budget for the Barangay Development Program of NTF ELCAC. (ral/PIA7-NegOr) 

These programs are lodged in the BDP of NTF ELCAC.

Some of the projects in Brgy. Luyang include improvement and rehabilitation of its barangay hall, construction of various local access roads, construction of day care centers, procurement of rescue vehicle, capacity development for livelihood assistance, garbage collection mechanism, and construction of high school building.

If the budget is approved in Congress, then the said projects will be slated for implementation in 2022.

On April 28, the Negros Oriental Task Force on ELCAC (NOTF ELCAC) and the MTF ELCAC conducted a Serbisyo Caravan in Brgy. Luyang as part of their strategies to reach out to the people and provide them the basic government services.

Philippine Army 302nd Infantry Brigade (IB) Commander Col. Leonardo Peña urged residents of Brgy. Luyang to express their support to the NTF ELCAC for the passage of the proposed budget for BDP.

“Magkaisa tayo para suportahan ang task force ELCAC. Kailangan po marinig ng ibang miyembro ng ating gobyerno, (mga) senador, (mga) congressman na kayo ay sumusuporta sa mga activity nito. By next year naka-program po sana ang P20 million budget for BDP sa Barangay Luyang pero kung ang P16.5 billion na budget for BDP ay hindi maaprubahan malamang hindi na po matutuloy ang mga programa sa Luyang for next year (Let’s be united in supporting the task force on ELCAC. All government officials including senators and congressmen should know that you are supporting these activities. There is a P20 million budget for BDP intended for Brgy. Luyang next year and if the P16 billion budget will not be approved, then all the programs slated for next year here will not push through),” Peña explained. 

“Kailangan suportahan natin na matuloy ang BDP through NTF ELCAC dahil ay diretso ang na kaagad ang tulong. Hindi na dadaanan kung kanikanino pang pulitiko (Let us support the approval of the BDP of NTF ELCAC because government assistance will be directly lodged to the community and will not pass through politicians),” he added.

The commanding officer of the 302nd IB encouraged the residents to show their support by posting messages on Facebook so that the campaign will reach the pages of high-ranking government officials of the country. (ral/PIA7-Negros Oriental)

Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)