Cebu tops BuB project implementation in Central Visayas

CEBU, Philippines - Aside from getting the biggest chunk of the funds under the Bottom-up Budgeting program, Cebu Province also topped among the provinces in Central Visayas in terms of delivery rate for the years 2013 and 2014.

This means that Cebu has the most number of implemented projects, either completed or ongoing, said Lyn Aguelo, BuB provincial focal person of the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Cebu Province.

A summarized report obtained by The FREEMAN showed that a total of 1,233 projects were implemented in different local governments in the province in 2013 and 2014. Of which, 62 percent, or 768 projects, has been completed.

The towns of Poro in Camotes Island, Samboan, and Santander reported a hundred percent implementation. Aguelo said the projects varied depending on the identified priorities of a local government, but the average subsidy to LGUs amounted to more than P15 million, mostly intended for infrastructure projects and training programs.

During its inception in 2013, the BuB program covered only 22 LGUs in Cebu. The number, however, increased to 49 in 2014.

Currently, all the LGUs in the province are already covered by the program, Aguelo reported. She attributed the province’s achievement to the capacity of the LGUs to implement the projects.

Department of Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad, on the other hand, believed that the local chief executive’s support contributes to the high BuB delivery rate in a local government.

Governor Hilario Davide III, in a separate interview, confirmed the benefits the province received from the BuB, pointing out the different road projects in the province.

“If you have been to the south and north, some of the roads are being fixed and widened,” he said.

The province is also set to receive at least P56 million from the national government for the improvement, development and rehabilitation of various provincial roads as part of the implementation of the “Konkreto at Ayos na Lansangan at Daan Tungo sa Pangkalahatang Kaunlaran (KALSADA) project,” a variant of the BuB program.

At least P1.83 billion has been allocated to Central Visayas under BuB program this year, with Cebu getting the lion’s share of the budget. Of the amount which funds 844 projects in the 2016 National Budget, Cebu will get P1 billion for 426 projects. Since 2013, Central Visayas has received a total of P5.29 billion in BuB funds for 3,396 projects with Cebu getting P3.05 billion for 1,827 projects.

Central Visayas is composed of three provinces: Cebu, Bohol, and Siquijor. The province of Cebu has three highly urbanized cities: Cebu City, Mandaue City, and Lapu-Lapu City.

Abad said that Cebu City will benefit from a rapid community-based monitoring system (CBMS), a big-ticket BuB project amounting P19.2 million.  The CBMS is an organized process of data-collection and processing at the local level, with the data to be integrated in local planning, program implementation, and impact monitoring.

“Projects like this will help LGUs make informed decisions and draft policies on the programs they need,” he earlier said.

BuB allows the grassroot level to participate in the national budget formulation by identifying projects that suit their needs.

At least 1,590 local government units (LGUs) have participated in the program since 2013 and a total of 42,180 projects have been funded, of which 16,576 have been completed as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2015.

For this year, 14,325 BuB projects have been allocated P24.7 billion in the national budget. — (FREEMAN)