In his speech on
Wedneday (May 2) before a huge crowd at Plaza Rizal during a project
turnover to various barangays in downtown area, he said that, all
these are in consonance with Commission On Audit (COA) and DILG rules.
He clarified that as
per regulations of the Commission on Audit, any outgoing Mayor is
required to turnover and announce publicly all the projects given to
the different barangays. This is, to erase any doubt from the public
that he had ghost projects and give the public a chance to raise
objections or protest publicly if those projects are not actually
existing.
“During my incumbency
as City Mayor, I am proud to tell you, that there is no single ghost
project in this city - saying that all projects have been implemented
in all the 138 barangays in the city, the Mayor said.
According to Mayor
Romualdez that when he ran for the local chief executive post, the
main purpose was to make improvements in the City and boost the
economic status of Tacloban.
Romualdez recalled
that, when he was a new mayor, the City had only P100 million income
per year, but in his next two terms, it escalated to over P600
million.
“We need to further
improve Tacloban, not only because it is the capital City of Leyte,
but because it is the Center of the Eastern Visayas region”, Romualdez
said.
Further, the Mayor
said, that the very reason he had been giving various projects to the
138 barangays, is that they contributed a lot in generating income for
the City government by effectively collecting taxes in their
respective areas.
“Gin buligan man ako
niyo nga mag riko an Tacloban tungod han pagbayad han buhis, salit
ginbalus ko ini pinaagi han mga proyekto”, Mayor said in the
vernacular.
Among those
projects given to various barangays were drainage systems, barangay
halls, multi-purpose halls, pathways, water systems, and street
lightings.
