Squabbling Basey officials delay infrastructure projects

By RICKY J. BAUTISTA
January 23, 2007

BASEY, Samar  –  The usual bickering of some public officials in this municipality hampered the implementation of the Infrastructure for Rural Productivity Enhancement Sector (INFRES) project in 15 barangays here.

Mayor Vicente Labuac said some of the opposition councilors in Basey are delaying the discussion on his request that an SB resolution be approve in order not to hamper the implementation of the INFRES project which is intended to enhance agricultural development in the most economically depressed areas in Basey.

Labuac said that due to the delayed SB resolution needed, the Philippine National Bank (PNB) no longer accommodated to finance the project, since it didn’t catch up the January 15 deadline of the bank. “So, we came to a decision that an alternative financing institution like the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) could instead finance the project,” Labuac stressed.

The chief executive said this INFRES project, which was jointly identified and selected as a flag-ship program of this present administration under the approved Executive and Legislative Agenda (ELA) 2005-2007, will be beneficial to at least 15 out of 51 villages of this town.

In last Wednesday’s session (January 17), some SB officials showed strong opposition to the proposal of the mayor to borrow some P12 million to the DBP saying it could only be used in the election campaign of the administration.

Councilors Virgilio Lugnasin, Paul Charles Adona and Atty. Igmedio Ponferrada are among those who showed disinterest in the proposed loan with the DBP bank. However, Councilors Anita Ogrimen and Atty. Diomedes Tabao, both supported Labuac and reasoned out the developmental improvement the project may bring to the town.

To recall, the officials here prompted to sourced out some other financial institutions after Congressman Catalino Figueroa withdrew his commitment to provide the amount of P15 million as LGU equity to the INFRES Project in Basey.

In view of this withdrawal, Mr. Michael J. Allman, Team Leader and Project Management Specialist wrote Labuac to “identify other sources to fully provide the required LGU equity of P32.634 million.”

“We know that the amount of P12 million has been appropriated in the LGU 2006 and 2007 budgets at P6 million per year, so the balance of some P20 million has to be sourced elsewhere,” Allman said.