BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Isabela, Negros Occidental mayor Irene Montilla revealed that eight of her town’s insurgent-affected barangays received P160-million worth of infrastructure projects.
Funds for these originated from the Barangay Development Program of Task Force ELCAC (Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict).
The barangay were Makilignit, Libas, Sebucawan, Sikatuna, Riverside, San Agustin, Cabcab, and Mansablay – all remote and mountainous areas.
According to Montilla, each of the villages received P20 million to fund infrastructure projects such as farm-to-market roads and solar street lights, among others.
Initially, the villages received P4 million each in the first quarter of this year, with another P5 million slated for the second quarter and the remaining P11 million to be released in the last quarter of 2022.
Montilla also said certain areas of these barangays have already been declared by the Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion, as insurgency-free.
The influence of the New People’s Army in the barangays diminished over the years, said Montilla./PN
