TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, December 2, (PIA) –About 9 of Catigbian’s 22 barangays still have water and sanitation problems, but according to Mayor Virgilio Lurot, slowly but surely, they are looking at getting better conditions for thousands of families who still find potable drinking water access restrictive.
And with that, Catigbian leaders see over P50 million funds from a convergence of government agencies in the next two years, according to the mayor.
Lurot, a man who holds a long experience as legislator and a businessman, said the town has allocated some of its local funds for the improvement of the towns waterworks, but the recent earthquake compromised several of its waterworks infrastructure that they need to go back to the drawing boards.
Speaking to the local media during the recent “Katigba-one para sa kalikopan,” the otherwise reserved chief executive of Bohol’s green town shared his administration’s game plan in beating the water woes off his townspeople.
“There has to be a re-planning, getting all small barangay waterworks interconnected so we could have a fair grasp of what’s needed to where,” the mayor, who sat on a press conference with Vice Mayor Rey Lacea and Councilor Necita Digaum, shared.
Admitting an annual programmed waterworks development set for Catigbian, the mayor also added it is barely enough to cause a dent on the need.
After the earthquake, the town identified the rehabilitation of its ruined waterworks and pushed for P8 million funding aid.
Through the government’s Bohol Earthquake Assistance funds, the local planners now are completing the paper requirements before the Provincial Treasurer issues the certificates of availability of the funds prior to getting the voucher or checks to start the projects.
Apart from the P8M and the additional annual local appropriations, the Department of Interior and Local Government facilitated the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting Process and asked community stakeholders to help pick out priority projects which the communities direly need.
The GPBP has helped people identify some P20 million of waterworks projects in 2015 and another 25 in the next year, he said.
Another potential fund source is the expanded Kalahi CIDSS of the Department of Social welfare and Development, which could be had, through its Community Driven Development concept, a source added. (RAC/PIABohol)
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