Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo announced Wednesday that the provincial government will no longer rely on national government funding for the implementation of various programs and projects at the local level.
This, after his administration suffered severely from at least four withdrawals of national funding in the past several months for unknown reasons.
Governor Degamo told the media the withdrawal of the funds would impact on the lives of the Negros Oriental constituents.
However, he vowed to pursue the programs and projects affected by the curtailment.
Among the funds that national government agencies had withdrawn but which were initially announced as having been programmed are the P481-million disaster fund, half of the total amount which President Benigno Simeon Aquino III had promised to Negros Oriental following the Magnitude 6.9 earthquake that rocked the Province in 2012; the P100-million allocation from the Department of Health for the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital; and P16-million for the Guihulngan District Hospital in the northern city of Guihulngan.
Recently, another withdrawal was announced on a multi-million agriculture project, although the Governor could not specifically remember the exact amount.
The sad part about these funding withdrawals is that the national government agencies involved in the release have not offered an explanation at all, Degamo lamented.
The Governor said he is taking this as a challenge instead to continue with his administration’s thrust of serving the people of Negros Oriental, and bringing to them the basic services as well as development projects. (PNA) LAP/JFP
