MANILA, Philippines – “No more room for “imaginary” or ghost projects.”
Ito ang tiniyak ni Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman na nais na maging ‘visible, functional, at impactful’ ang national funding para sa flood control program ng bansa.
Ayon sa Kalihim, titiyakin ng departamento na wala ni isa mang sentimo ang ‘masasayang o mapupunta sa wala’ para maiwasan na maulit ang nangyari noong nakaraang linggo kung saan maraming lugar sa bansa ang naging virtual lagoons at lawa dahil sa southwest monsoon o habagat at tatlong bagyo.
Ito’y sa kabila ng bilyong piso na ibinuhos sa flood control projects.
“The funds we allocate in our national budget should not be imaginary or left idle. They should be visible, functional, felt, and truly helpful to our fellow citizens,” ayon kay Pangandaman.
“We do not want a repeat of what happened during the past storms when most areas in the country turned into swimming pools due to the deep floods, and some cars ended up like submarines. This caused a lot of inconvenience to our fellow Filipinos,” dagdag na wika nito.
Sa kabilang dako, nakapulong naman ni Pangandaman ang mga high-ranking official para sa kauna-unahang Special Program Convergence Budgeting Steering Committee (PCB-SC) meeting para pag-usapan ang flood mitigation at water security issues.
Ang miting ay dinaluhan ng mga kinatawan mula sa Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Environment and Natural Resources, National Irrigation Administration, Department of Energy, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, UP Research Institute, at Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev). Kris Jose
