GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Some P192 million worth of road projects will be implemented this year in parts of South Cotabato province under the national government’s Conditional Matching Grant to Provinces (CMGP).
Vicente Ayongao, acting head of the Provincial Engineer’s Office, said Thursday these comprised eight priority projects that were endorsed by the provincial government last year for funding and implementation under the CMGP.
He said the PEO was tasked anew to implement the road projects, which will cover eight localities within the province’s first and second congressional districts.
“We already started our initial preparation and just waiting for the go-signal from the implementing agencies,” he said.
The eight projects are the upgrading of junction national highway-Cebuano-Kipalbig Road (P21.6 million); upgrading of Tampakan-Sta. Cruz-Topland Road (P22.2 million); upgrading of junction national highway-New Iloilo-Cabuling-New Lambunao Road (P33.8 million); upgrading of Centrala-Naci-Lambontong Road (P31.6 million); upgrading of junction national highway-Palian-Cannery-Junction Upper Klinan Road (P24 million); upgrading of Tampakan-Tablu Road (P19.3 million); upgrading of junction national highway-Sulit-Bentung-Crossing Aflek Road (P15.7 million); and, upgrading of junction national highway-Poblacion Tantangan-Tacub -Tinago Road (P23.9 million).
Ayongao said the allocation for the eight projects reduced based on an advisory from the Department of Budget from their original cost of around P600 million.
He said the adjustment was due to the reduction of the budget for CMGP under the 2018 national budget to P8 billion from the proposed P18 billion.
“The downloading of the budget was also changed. It was previously through the DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government) but now will be directly released to the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways),” he added.
In 2017, the PEO also implemented eight road projects under the CMGP worth around P350.42 million.
The provincial government of South Cotabato proposed last year for the inclusion of 10 more road projects worth P1.014 billion for this year’s cycle.
The proposed projects, which were included in the province’s priorities under its annual infrastructure program, were for road repairs, rehabilitation and other related improvements.
CMGP replaced the Konkreto at Ayos na Lansangan ang Daan Tungo sa Pangkalahatang Kaunlaran or the KALSADA program, which was launched by the national government in 2016 following the completion of the Australian Aid’s Provincial Road Management Facility that covered 10 selected provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao.
The program aims to partly address the poor state of provincial roads across the country and to improve the competency of provinces in local road management and in incorporating reforms in public financial management. (PNA)
