BESAO, Mountain Province (PIA) — The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) praised local officials, contractors and the community of Besao for the successful implementation of Support to Barangay Development Program (SBDP) projects in the municipality.
“I say it’s good governance because that’s the battle cry of NTF-ELCAC. Good governance includes inclusivity, transparency, accountability, participation, leadership, so we saw all of that. It’s a concrete example of good governance,” NTF-ELCAC Director for Operations Arnulfo Ferdinand G. Bajarin said during an exit conference March 13.
NTF-ELCAC officials, with the Regional and Provincial TF-ELCAC, conducted joint monitoring of SBDP projects in Barangays Ambaguio (Ambagiw), Agawa and Suquib in Besao, Mountain Province. These projects include upgrading farm-to-market roads in Barangays Ambaguio (Ambagiw) and Agawa, and concreting a farm-to-market road in Barangay Suquib.
Engineers Benjo de Guzman and Catherine Joy Leon, both from the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Central Office, also commended the work done in completing the roads, highlighting that the road structures had no issues.
“In terms of structural integrity, we have no complaints, considering our topography is uphill and winding. It was implemented, and we didn’t see any cracks,” de Guzman said.
Municipal Health Officer Joy Dicdican expressed how the projects help deliver services to the community.
“With the improvement of our road networks, it’s easier for us to provide services. We saw how important roads are to our remote barangays,” she said.
These projects were funded under the 2024 SBDP and implemented earlier this year.
Barangay Tamboan in Besao, a beneficiary of three SBDP projects, was the first municipality in the Cordillera to successfully implement and complete SBDP projects in 2022, for which NTF-ELCAC also praised it. (JDP/VJLT-PIA-CAR, Mountain Province)
