Sen. Drilon pours P2.4B infra projects

ILOILO CITY, Philippines - From inadequate infrastructure to improved road network-this was how Senator Franklin Drilon saw Iloilo within the next two to three years, as he revealed the jump-start of the construction of the P2.4 billion worth of infra projects six weeks from now.

Drilon, who was in Iloilo City for the meeting of the Iloilo River Development Council (IRDC), said that by November he would move for the start of construction of the projects.

The P2.4 billion will involve the construction of the P217-million Iloilo Radical Road, the P1.7-billion Iloilo Circumferential Road, the P423-million Jaro-Leganes Road and the P70-million esplanade.

The bidding will start as early as October 7, he said while assuring the media and the public of transparency in the bidding process. "I hope this will enable us to improve the inadequate infrastructure facility of Iloilo City," he said.

City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, who accompanied Drilon, said, "This is what we call Christmas in September. There are more things to come, more things to do."

Meanwhile, during the meeting with the IRDC and its technical working group, the memorandum of agreement for Philippine Ports Authority donation of rubber boats and outboard motors was signed by PRO-6 Chief Supt. Cipriano Querol, Jr., the PPA and the city government.

A MOA signing was also held between the city and the National Meat Inspection Service for a P40 million fund for upgrading of the Iloilo City slaughterhouse.

The city government and the National Housing Authority also moved for the construction of houses for the city's informal settlers. - THE FREEMAN