Monday, November 26, 2007 Aid for Iligan folks assured By Richel V. Umel Lanao correspondent
ILIGAN CITY---President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo assured residents here over the weekend that the national government would help in the city's economic recovery amid the recent onslaught of "Typhoon Lando."
The President made the assurance after arriving from her trip to Singapore for the Asian Summit.
She said around US $P1.6 billion in investments were made by Global Steel for the Iligan steel plant.
A strike by more than 5,000 employees was averted when
Global Steel management managed to obtain a so-called assumption order from the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole).
The employees claimed that Global Steel management failed to meet the conditions under their Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
With the new investment, President Arroyo said she is confident of a socio-economic recovery of Iligan City dubbed as the industrial hub of the south.
Arroyo also said the New Zealand government will provide assistance in the form of environment greening initiatives.
The President claimed Iligan City as her second hometown where she reportedly spent her younger years at Macaraeg-Macapagal Ancestral home in Sitio Timoga, Buruu-n.
Previously, Arroyo said P15 million will be released for the reconstruction of the old Tubod bridge that cracked at the height of the flashflood.
She also committed to support the dredging of the shallow Iligan Rand Mandulog rivers to include the completion of the pending flood control project in coordination with funds allotted from the city and Lanao del Norte's congressional districts.
Arroyo also directed the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to install a Doppler radar station in Central Mindanao to monitor and provide accurate weather advisories.
