The Department of Budget & Management in Region 7 has pledged to bring the Dagyawan or barangay project consultations to the Regional Development Council to become a regional flagship project in Central Visayas.
In a Dagyawan sa Barangay of the Negros Oriental Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in the municipality of Zamboaguita, Budget Regional Director Imelda Laceras said the activity helps the government bring down the dialogues to the community.
“So in my humble capacity, we will ensure that we will help in listening and making sure that we can help resolve the problems particularly in Zamboanguita and to the whole of Negros Oriental, and the good thing about this Dagyawan is that we can see other agencies that have not responded yet to the priorities of the barangays or municipality,” said Laceras.
The Dagyaw or bayanihan serves as the vehicle in bringing different government agencies closer to the people with their basic services in a caravan at the barangays.
Laceras said her office, and as vice chair of RDC’s development administration committee, is committed to support the programs and advocacies of the local task force and monitor the usage of funds of each agencies intended for the particular project to help address the long problem of insurgency.
However, when asking for funding there is a prescribed process to follow.
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There is no special process to address the problems that will surface during the dialogue, emphasized Laceras.
“The barangays have its regular budget from the Internal Revenue Allotment but since it’s limited to fund infrastructure projects, they can ask help from the IRA of the municipality or to the Provincial Development Council, and if the Governor cannot fund all the priorities of his province, he can ask from the concerned national agencies,” the DBM official said.
Nevertheless, the first who will receive the approved budget for 2020 are those identified barangays and municipalities with insurgency issues, said Laceras.
The DBM official also warned that under EO 91, the budget allocation for the year should be all be used or obligated to fast track the projects, otherwise the funds will be returned back to the national government.
Meantime, hundreds of residents of hinterland Brgy. Calango in the southern town of Zamboanguita benefited from various services offered during the Serbisyo Caravan.
This is the fifth leg of the Dagyawan as part of the whole-of-nation approach of the President to attain inclusive and sustainable peace.
Services offered for free during the Serbisyo Caravan include medical and dental treatment, distribution of medicines and vitamins, medical consultation, haircut and massage, and seedlings distribution. (jct/PIA7 Negros Oriental)
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