By Billy Begas
Pangasinan Gov. Ramon Guico III urged the national government to coordinate more closely with local government units (LGUs) in identifying and implementing flood control projects in their respective jurisdictions.
In an interview on Agenda, Bilyonaryo News Channel’s primetime newscast, award-winning broadcast journalist Korina Sanchez-Roxas asked Guico whether there were ghost or substandard flood control projects in his province.
“Well, syempre nasa GAA naman po lahat yan, but as far as the implementation is concerned, wala naman pong kinalaman ang province of Pangasinan because the primary agency who actually implements those projects is DWPH,” he said.
“Pero alam po namin, aware po kami kasi dumadaan naman po yan sa RDC (Regional Development Council) po namin, nasa NEP (National Expenditure Program) po yan and then it eventually gets approved in the GAA (General Appropriations Act),” Guico added.
Guico stressed that the national government should closely coordinate with LGUs in identifying and planning flood control projects because local officials know the needs of their areas better.
“Ang hinaing nga po namin sana meron kaming mas participation sa implementation nito para naman may check and balance sa pag-implement ng mga proyektong ito and it should be coordinated with us kasi mas alam po namin kung saan ang mga priority areas na kailangan pong lagyan ng mga river protection,” the governor said.
“So, yun lang po ang aming hinihingi sa mga national agencies that implements these kinds of projects, to have close coordination with the LGUs and the province,” he added.
Guico also raised concerns about the allocation of funds for flood control projects.
“Sana yung binigyan po nila ng mga flood control ay yun talagang mga areas that need them more and yung bang may urgency,” he said.
“Kasi po tila ang nangyayari it is being spread to several districts or in several LGUs para lang po siguro magkaroon ng equal na pondo bawat lugar, but I think there are areas that need more priority kasi ito po yung mga mostly affected,” Guico added.
