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| Eastern Visayas provinces want the national government to prioritize poor communities affected by the decades-long insurgency and provide more funds. Photo: PIA-8 |
Provinces in Eastern Visayas are asking the national government for more funds and to prioritize poor communities affected by the region's decades-long insurgency.
Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone requested a meeting with national security adviser Clarita Carlos at Tacloban City's Summit Hotel.
According to the governor, his province only has 300 million pesos in annual funds set aside for development projects in 597 barangays.
This amount, he claims, represents 20% of the province's share of the Annual Internal Revenue Allotment.
This is also the opinion of Samar Governor Sharee Ann Tan, who stated that the province's annual budget for development projects is only 430 million pesos.
Tan stated that the funds would be distributed to twenty-four towns, two cities, and 951 barangays. The Governor added that they wanted to pave the road to San Jose de Buan but couldn't because it would cost 35 million pesos per kilometer to make the road concrete.