Photo: PIA Antique
ILOILO CITY (PIA) – – A total of P1 billion has been allocated by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for various barangay development projects in Western Visayas.
Juan Jovian Ingeniero, DILG-6 director, said these projects are intended for poverty alleviation and community development in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA), and formerly rebel-influenced villages.
He added that these projects include farm-to-market roads, sanitary and water systems, health stations, school buildings, and rural electrification.
For fiscal years 2022-2024, at least, 238 project proposals throughout the region have been approved, with many already implemented.
Among those completed are the Barangay Tabiac Health Station in Igbaras, Iloilo; farm-to-market roads at Brgy. Wright in Tapaz, Capiz and Brgy. Bulan-bulan in San Remigio, Antique; rural electrification in Barangay Oya-oy, Miag-ao, Iloilo; and the expansion of the Level III Potable Water Supply System in Barangay Agdum, Miag-ao, Iloilo.
These projects are under the Support to Barangay Development Program (SBDP), a flagship program of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), which is funded by DILG’s Local Government Support Fund (LGSF).
These projects are expected to benefit GIDA communities so they can feel the government’s presence, Ingeniero said during the “Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas” forum of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Regional Office 6 on July 30.
With these projects, the DILG, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine National Police expect to finally clear Western Visayas of insurgency by 2028. (BCS – PIA R6)
