P80M released for repair of road in town next to Marawi City

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released P80.3 million to repair a road in Lanao del Sur province which is part of the rehabilitation and reconstruction of war-torn Marawi City.

New DBM data showed that the amount, released last month to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), was meant for the improvement and rehabilitation of Mual Lumbaca Ingud-Ranaranao Road in Marantao town, which is next to Marawi City. The money had been allotted in the 2019 national budget.

The project is under the Marawi Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program (MRRRP).

MRRRP in 2019, covered by National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (NDRRMF), was still valid until end of 2019 as the year’s national budget remained good for two years.

Of P3.44 billion in funds for the 2019 MRRRP, bulk or P3.36 billion remain unreleased as of Feb. 29, although already awaiting approval by the Office of the President were P3.26 billion in projects. These are on top of P93.8 million of projects awaiting approval by the Department of National Defense and Office of Civil Defense.

All NDRRMF releases for the MRRRP were subject for final approval by President Rodrigo Duterte upon recommendation of the interagency National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

In 2019, just P62.9 billion of the 2019 MRRRP funding was released to the DPWH to build two infrastructure projects in an area of Marawi that took the brunt of destruction during the war between government forces and Islamic State fighters in 2017.

Pending the President’s approval were P1.9 billion to be released to the National Housing Authority (NHA); P766.5 million for the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA); P558.2 million for the Marawi City local government unit (LGU); P20.9 billion for Mindanao State University (MSU); P3.3 million for the Department of Education (DepEd); and P2.9 million for the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

Awaiting the DND and OCD’s approval and signatures were planned releases of P48.6 million to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and P45.2 million for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Only P212,057 in 2019 Marawi funds are still with no matching projects.

The P3.5 billion allocated for MRRRP in 2020 remains untouched, even as P484 million was already earmarked—P328.3 million for the DND and OCD’s approval on top of P155.8 million awaiting go-signal from the Office of the President.

This month, Duterte ordered Marawi City rehabilitation czar Eduardo D. del Rosario to work with the DBM in fast-tracking fund releases.

At least P406.5 million in NDRRMF allocation for Marawi in the 2018 budget lapsed its two-year validity in 2019 due to slow approval of projects.

Edited by TSB