PAMPANGA First District Rep. Carmelo "Jon" Lazatin III on Wednesday, May 8, said that some P1.4 billion has been earmarked for infrastructure projects in the district in 2019.
Lazatin said the figure excludes the school building projects implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in cooperation with the Department of Education (DepEd).
"For 2019, ang naisaayos po nating pondo ay almost P1.4 billion pwera pa po yung sa mga school buildings. Aabot po siguro tayong P1.8 billion kung ipapalabas po ang ibang kailangan natin sa distrito kagaya ng mga school buildings," Lazatin said.
(For 2019, we have arranged almost P1.4 billion for various projects, excluding school buildings. The amount would reach P1.8 billion if the budget is released for other projects like school buildings.)
The province's 1st District gets an average of P1 billion per year, he added.
"Actually hindi ko po masyadong matandaan pero hindi naman po tayo bumababa sa P1 billion per year," he added.
(I could not really recall the amount, but it does not go below P1 billion per year.)
Projects lined up for this year include the widening of a road and a bridge connecting barangays Pulung Maragul and Pulung Cacutud to decongest the vehicular traffic in the city's eastern section, according to Lazatin.
"Isa sa mga naging priorities natin at alam ko mayroon na po tayong nakalaan na pondo ay yung gagawin po natin na Pulung Cacutud, Pulung Maragul bridge," Lazatin said.
(The Pulung Cacutud - Pulung Maragul bridge is one of our priorities.)
A new road will be developed in order to decongest the existing bridge situated in the two villages, he added.
"It's a P70-million project na two-lanes na hinihingi po natin expansion para maging four lanes sa 2020," Lazatin said.
(This is a P70-million project aimed at expanding the two-lane bridge to four lanes by 2020.)
If re-elected, Lazatin vowed to push for other projects including education, traffic decongestion, health, peace and order, among others.
When asked about his chances of being re-elected, Lazatin said he was 90 percent confident of winning in the congressional race against former Congressman Joseller "Yeng" Guiao who was reportedly endorsed by a religious group with swing votes.
"Kasi po, tingin ko marami naman pong naniniwala sa nagawa po natin sa distrito. So, masaya naman po ang distrito sa nakikita ko ngayon at nabuhayan ang buong sinasakupan ng distrito mapa Mabalacat, mapa Magalang at Angeles City," Lazatin said.
Majority of the barangays covered by the congressional district received various projects from the national government, according to the congressman.
Lazatin met with officers and members of the Pampanga Press Club (PPC) during a forum at Widus Hotel and Casino Wednesday morning.
Pampanga's First Congressional District covers the two cities of Angeles and Mabalacat and Magalang town.