Huge cut in budget for Pasig river rehab sought

Sen. Cynthia Villar on Friday moved to slash by as much as two-thirds the proposed P257-million budget of the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC)  for 2020 as she questioned the agency’s plan to spend for the relocation of informal settlers living along the polluted waterway.

At the Senate budget hearing of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the senator quizzed PRRC officials why they were allotting money for the “social preparation” of families living in shanties near Pasig River.

“They are meddling with the relocation. I’ve done it in Las Piñas. (PRRC) cannot do it. It should be the local (government unit),” Villar told reporters after the hearing.—MARLON RAMOS