THE chairperson of the Regional Development Council-Economic Development Committee (RDC-EDC) urged the Cebu Provincial Government to submit more projects to be funded by national government agencies.
EDC chairperson Melanie Ng made the appeal during the sectoral consultation of the Cebu Provincial Development Council (CPDC) last Aug. 22.
Ng said that she observed that most of the projects funded by the Department of Agriculture (DA) 7 went to Bohol Province.
However, DA 7 Director Salvador Diputado said that the agency is relying on project proposals of every local government units(LGUs) in releasing funds.
“After understanding the whole process, it comes to me that the LGUs must submit project proposals to government line agencies. So, I would like to encourage all LGUs to submit more project proposals now for calendar year 2018,” said Ng.
The CPDC last Wednesday approved the list of projects to be funded by the Province’s P665-million Local Development Fund (LDF) for 2018.
The opening of new roads and concreting of existing roads will be prioritized for inclusion in the Annual Investment Plan (AIP), which will be funded by the LDF.
The LDF represents 20 percent of the Capitol’s share in the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA), which is estimated at P665 million for 2018.
Cebu Provincial Budget Officer Danilo Rodas said that there are three fund sources for projects, namely, 20 percent development fund from the IRA, national government, and local funds.
Rodas said that there must be harmonization of projects from national, regional, provincial, city and municipal governments.
He said that the CPDC consultation meeting is good in identifying projects for the coming years because aside from sectoral representatives, the mayors are part of the sectoral committees.