DILG-8 official says barangay BUB funds not intended to sway voters

TACLOBAN CITY, April 12 (PNA) –- A top regional official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said the PHP1 million bottom-up budgeting (BUB) funds for each qualified barangay (village) cannot be used to sway voters ahead of May 9 polls.

DILG Eastern Visayas Regional Director Pedro Noval, Jr. said the barangay BUB is intended for 2017 and there’s no way this will be used to influence voters.

“How can the Liberal Party use this BUB funds when in fact the implementation is next year?” Noval asked.

He clarified that not all villages will get the PHP1 million outlay in 2017 since the DILG will have to check the village government’s formulation and implementation of barangay development plan, compliance to full disclosure policy, regular conduct of twice a year barangay assembly, and financial and technical capability.

A total of 42,036 villages nationwide are set to receive a subsidy of PHP1 million each for projects identified by their respective local development council. In the region, potential beneficiaries are the 4,390 villages.

The first batch will get BuB funding next year while other areas will undergo capacity development and will be enlisted in the succeeding batches.

“We have conducted series of activities in the region such as orientation to all village officials, and start the evaluation to determine how many villages will be qualified to receive the fund,” Noval added.

The DILG set the second week of April as deadline for the submission of requirements from potential village recipients.

“The budget will be downloaded directly to barangays. That is one way of measuring how they manage funds, ability to properly utilize the budget by observing COA (Commission on Audit) rules, and practice transparency and accountability,” Noval added.

The BuB program, pioneered by the Aquino administration, has been empowering local government units (LGUs) and promoting people’s participation to decide what projects to be prioritized. Since 2012, cities and municipalities have been benefiting from BuB.

Eastern Visayas, the region hit by supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013, gets the largest share of the total PHP24.7 billion BUB funds (BuB) for 2016, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

The region will get a total of PHP2.25 billion in BuB funds to support the implementation of 1,105 priority projects.

Although projects are intended for cities and towns, the budget is being downloaded through concerned national government agencies.

These projects include construction and upgrading of evacuation facilities, flood control, local roads, school buildings, and water supply and sanitation; acquisition of rescue equipment; as well as support to livelihood, fishing and agriculture. (PNA)

JMC/SARWELL Q. MENIANO