Negros Occidental gov hopes Senate to OK P19-B fund to aid typhoon, COVID-19 survivors

BACOLOD CITY –– Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson hoped the Senate would approve the proposed P19-billion fund for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in the 2021 budget, which some senators want realigned.

“There are 16 barangays in Negros Occidental that stand to receive P20 million each for being NPA (New People’s Army)-cleared,” he said.

Opposition senators on Monday said they were pushing for the realignment of the P19-billion anti-insurgency fund to address more pressing needs, like aid to typhoon victims and the COVID-19 response.

Sen. Nancy Binay also questioned why several barangays in highly-urbanized cities, including a greening program for Barangay Banago in Bacolod City, were included in the list of recipients of the anti-insurgency fund intended to spur development in rural areas.

Binay said there is no forest in Banago because it is a port area. She called for the exclusion of barangays in highly urbanized cities from the anti-insurgency fund.