Anti-poverty fund worth over P600M to benefit E. Visayas in 2013

published May 16, 2012 in BusinessWorld


TACLOBAN CITY -- Over P600 million channelled through national government agencies will benefit 55 poor local government units (LGUs) in Eastern Visayas next year.


Imelda C. Laceras, regional director of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), said the amount comprises 7.21% of the P8.62-billion national budget for LGUs employing the bottom-up approach.

"LGUs in consultations with civil society groups have identified priority projects under the Local Poverty Reduction Plan (LPRAP) for inclusion in the 2013 budget of selected national government agencies," Ms. Laceras said.

The funding support will be channelled through national government offices under the procedures defined by the DBM, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the National Anti-Poverty Commission.

Ms. Laceras said the Regional Development Council will conduct a thorough review to ensure that an agency’s budget provides for LPRAP-listed projects.

The proposed projects under LPRAP will be submitted to concerned agencies in the region and then their main offices will forward these to DBM and NAPC. Possible projects include farm-to-market roads, irrigation, rural electrification, rural health unit, and livelihood activities.

Of the 55 focused LGUs, Calbayog City and Catbalogan City in Samar province will get the highest budget at P50 million and P30.2 million, respectively.

Sixteen LGUs from Samar, six from Eastern Samar, 11 from Northern Samar and 12 in Leyte will have funding assistance of P8 million to P12 million.

Municipalities with high budget allocations in Samar alone include Basey (P21.6 million), Daram (P19.8 million), Catarman (P18.6 million), Sta. Rita (P16.9 million), and Gandara (P15.3 million).

Similar high budget allocations are slated for municipalities in Leyte such as Hilongos (14.5 million), Abuyog (P14.4 million), and Burauen (P13.1 million).

"No budget cap of any focus city will be less than P8 million and no budget cap of any focus municipality will be greater than P30 million. Budget ceiling of any focus city will not exceed P50 million," Ms. Laceras said.

The poor towns and cities were identified by the Cabinet’s Human Development and Poverty Reduction (HDPR) cluster based on the magnitude of the poor in the municipalities, number of population minus number of poor, amount needed to be mobilized every year to eradicate poverty in the area, and the density of the poor per province. -Sarwell Q. Meniano