Prov’l LGUs maintain ODA funded rural roads

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by June Blanco

Rep. Erico B. Aumentado has filed House Bill 6678 empowering provincial governments to maintain and improve rural roads funded by Official Development Assistance (ODA) in provinces where these roads are located.

In his explanatory note, Aumentado said, there are several rural roads funded under official development assistance of donor countries, and institutions such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

But after completion, he added there is no more maintenance or improvement because the LGUs provinces, towns and barangays do not provide fund for the purpose.

The end result, the solon said, these roads have no proper maintenance and improvement so that many of them in the country deteriorated, and others are almost impassable now.

Among the roads under this category are the Philippine Rural Road Improvement Projects (PRRIP), the Second Philippine Rural Road Improvement Projects (SPRRIP) and the Rural Road Network Development Project (RRNDP). Billions of pesos have been spent for these roads nationwide.

In Bohol, the ODA funded rural roads are the San Vicente-La Esperanza-Estaca-Villa Aurora-Can-oling road and the Sta. Cruz road in Dagohoy, the Nabuad-Baguhan-Maria Rosario-Cambitoon road in Inabanga, the Abaca-San Roque-Cawayan-Concepcion road in Mabini, Matin-ao-Canmano road in Carmen and Sagbayan, San Miguel-Bayongan-Gabi-San Pascual in San Miguel and Ubay, and Casate-Hambabawran-Corazon in Ubay and San Miguel.

According to residents traversed, by these ODA funded roads in Bohol, they were well maintained and improved during the Aumentado administration in the province.

In the Aumentado bill, the rationale behind empowering the provincial LGUs to maintain and improve the ODA funded roads is that the provincial governments have the most resources, technical capability and manpower, and equipments for the purpose among the provincial, municipal, and barangay LGUs.

Under the measure, the provincial governments are authorized to use their general fund and 20% development fund to maintain and improve the said roads. The provincial LGU may also leverage their funding for counterparting or convergence with national, senatorial and congressional funds as well as ODAs and non-government organizations, or even with the municipal and barangay LGUs with resources for the implementation of this measure, in the event, it is enacted into a law.

The bill stresses that the roads traverse through highly developed agricultural lands, and as such, are strategic arteries in the countrysides that link to markets and national highways; hence, vital to the economic development of the rural areas.

Section 2 of House Bill No. 6678 provides that the Department of Public Works and Highways shall draw up the list of these rural roads including, but not limited to, the Philippine rural road improvement project (PRRIP), the second Philippine rural road improvement project (SPRRIP), and the rural road network development project (RRNDP) financed by ODA in every province where these roads are located.

Under Section 3, The Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of the Interior and Local Government shall, in consultation with the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), promulgate the necessary implementing rules and regulation of this Act within ninety (90) days from approval hereof.

Aumentado requested Sen. Ramon Revilla, Jr., Senate Public Works Committee chair, to file a similar legislation to hasten the approval of a law for the purpose so as to save this vital rural roads from further deterioration and ultimate non-use.