BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
ILOILO City – “We have to be fair,” complained Iloilo’s 1st District Provincial Board member Ninfa Garin.
Her district had not been equitably apportioned with provincial government projects, she claimed.
But Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. was quick to deny his political ally’s complaint.
The 1st District is not being taken for granted and has its fair share in the allocation of projects, he insisted.
“Ang 1st District halin sang una, kay ulupod man kami sang mga Garin sa pulitika, wala ginapabay-an,” Defensor said over DyOK Aksyon Radyo-Iloilo yesterday.
As to road projects, Defensor said the district has very few provincial roads not as lengthy as those of other districts in the province.
The governor cited the 60-kilometer stretch of provincial roads in Passi City alone, which belongs to the 4th District.
The governor emphasized that the province prioritizes provincial roads because of budget constraints.
“Ang pagplastar sang mga projects wala ini gina pamulitikahan,” Defensor stressed.
He also cited the Pedro Trono Memorial District Hospital in Guimbal town as the only hospital in the 1st District servicing eight towns.
This was given priority and was allocated with about P100 million for its ongoing improvement, rehabilitation and upgrading, said Defensor.
During the recent regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Garin said, “We have to be fair. We belong to the province of Iloilo and Iloilo is composed of five congressional districts. Indi man na siling nga tanan nga bagay pabor ta gid sa 3rd District ah. Is it because the governor is from the 3rd District?”
Based on the 20-percent Internal Revenue Allotment for 2014 with a total of P50 million allotted for the implementation of special projects on roads and bridges, the 1st District has six projects with a funding allocation of P8.2 million.
The 2nd District has five projects for P10.5 million while the 3rd District has six projects for P11.3 million.
The biggest allocation went to the 4th District with P14.5 million for four projects.
The 5th District had the lowest allocation with P5.5 million for three projects./PN
