Yolanda-hit areas to get P11.7-B infrastructure projects

MANILA, Philippines—Eastern Visayas, which was left devastated by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in November 2013, will receive P11.69 billion worth of infrastructure projects this year, according to a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The amount is P4.79 billion more than the region’s allocation in 2014, according to a DPWH report. The Eastern Visayas region, or Region 8, groups the provinces of Leyte, Southern Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar (or Western Samar), Eastern Samar and Biliran.

Central Luzon will get P20.83 billion, the biggest slice of the infrastructure outlay, the DPWH said.

The rest of the regions and their corresponding infrastructure projects outlay are as follows: the National Capital Region, P19.79 billion; Northern Mindanao, P19.2 billion; Southern Tagalog, P18.06 billion; Western Visayas, P15.61 billion; Bicol, P15.16 billion; Davao provinces, P14.1 billion; Central Visayas, P12.97 billion; Mimaropa, P12.83 billion; Western Mindanao, P12.33 billion; Ilocos, P12.16 billion; Caraga and the Cordillera Administrative Region, both with P10.57 billion; Soccsksargen, P9.51 billion; and Cagayan Valley, P8.9 billion.

Not on the agency’s list is the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), which has a “separate funding.” The ARMM’s budget for infrastructure projects comes from the national government’s Stimulus Development Plan for the region, said to be one of the poorest and most underdeveloped area in the country.

This year, the government has set aside a total of P290.47 billion for infrastructure projects nationwide. The allocation is P83.84 billion higher than the 2014 funding of P206.63 billion.