Medellin brgy captains seek Capitol aid for rehab works

CEBU, Philippines - Barangays in Medellin town in northern Cebu are asking for financial assistance from the provincial government to rehabilitate infrastructure damaged by super typhoon Yolanda more than a year ago.

The town council and 17 barangay captains went to Capitol yesterday to channel their request personally to Governor Hilario Davide III in a closed-door meeting.

Medellin Vice Mayor Alfonso Lim said Davide has assured help and asked the barangay captains to come up with resolutions addressed to the provincial government to formalize the request. Among those that need to be repaired are barangay halls and roads.

“Sa guidelines ni Gov nga ang unahon gyud ang katong naguba sa Yolanda… Pasalamat mi ni Governor Davide kay iya daw aksiyonan,” Lim said.

Davide, for his part, said he will have to see the resolutions first.

In a separate interview, Medellin Mayor Ricardo Ramirez said the Department of Interior and Local Government had doled out funds for the rehabilitation projects in the town but there is a need to augment the same.

Ramirez arrived at the Capitol only after the meeting because he came from a summit. “I’m sure naa pay kuwang so puno-puno lang ni,” he told reporters.

In a meeting last January 14, Davide had asked town officials about the concerns of the barangays in their jurisdiction.

It was also in that meeting that Medellin requested the province to allocate funds for an asphalt overlay project for the province-owned road traversing barangays Dayhagon, Lamintak Sur and Norte, Luy-a, Caputatan Sur, and Poblacion.

Ramirez, a critic of the Davide administration, also wrote a demand letter to Capitol for the maintenance of the provincial roads and bridge which, he said, posed danger to motorists.

But the mayor announced yesterday that the repair of the provincial bridge and roads in the town “has already been taken care of”.

“Maayo kaayo kay he (Davide) has taken cognizance. The (repair of the) provincial bridge na-address na pud,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ramirez said he has washed his hands of the issue concerning the emergency shelter assistance, which the town has yet to receive from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

He reported that he received complaints from his constituents questioning the scheme implemented in giving the assistance.

“Nangutana nganong di sila makadawat nga wa may gipili ang Yolanda, madato man o mapobre. Pero nanghunaw na ko ana, moingon gyud mi nga wan a mi labot ana, DSWD ra na. Nagpatuman ra mi,” he said.

In an earlier report in The FREEMAN, DSWD explained that the ESA is intended to aid affected families who could not finance the reconstruction and repair of their homes.   — (FREEMAN)