Investment plan to sustain good governance in DavOr

MATI  CITY, DAVAO ORIENTAL October 21, 2015 --- The provincial government of Davao Oriental is confident that with the newly adopted Annual Investment Plan for 2016, it will be able to sustain and strengthen even more their award-winning good governance programs and projects.

Governor Corazon Malanyaon has recently convened the Provincial Development Council which have deliberated, approved and adopted the Annual Investment Plan for 2016 to be funded under the twenty percent of the Local Government Development Fund (LGDF). She says that programs and projects to be funded under the LGDF will boost her administration’s five development agenda which are to defeat poverty, safeguard the environment, expand access to infrastructure, utilities and social services, sustaining public order and security and to strengthen effective governance.

In conferring this year’s Seal of Good Local Governance award to Davao Oriental, the Department of Interior and Local Government has lauded Governor Malanyaon for being one of the best prime movers of government programs deemed worthy of emulation and recognition.

“This package of programs and projects that will be funded from our 20 percent IRA (Internal Revenue Allotment) will be relevant, acceptable and valuable to all of us. As a strong advocate of convergence, I had made it as one of my development strategies in achieving peace. For it is my belief that there can be no peace without development and there can be no development without peace. And this finds affirmation in the twin goals that we have remarkably attained through the Peace and Development Outreach Program or PDOP and how it work in harnessing all relevant programs of various government agencies to provide integrated support not only to conflict-affected communities but also to those vulnerable areas, with the military and civilians coming together, working together, pursuing undertakings together, creating a synergy, sharing the same values and levels of commitment, same values and same timeliness,” says Gov. Malanyaon during a recent Provincial Development Council meeting here attended by all top local government officials in the province.

The Internal Peace and Security Plan or Bayanihan program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines was piloted in Davao Oriental to great success, with government and the military cooperating in bringing development projects to far-flung areas especially those called GIDAs or Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas which are far from vital government and private resources. 

The government has defined GIDAs as communities with a marginalized population and physically and socio-economically separated from the mainstream society. They are physically isolated due to distance, adverse weather conditions, lack of transportation (island, upland, lowland, landlocked, hard to reach and unserved or underserved communities), with high poverty incidence, presence of vulnerable sectors, and a community in or recovering from situations of crisis or armed conflict.

“We intend to continue to pour our support to include these conflict-affected and vulnerable areas by providing funds for the rehabilitation, construction, installation of potable water supply and sanitation projects and for the installation, maintenance of lighting system. And in addition, we have extended coverage of the rehabilitation, maintenance and improvement of local roads, bridges and other public facilities in order to sustain the benefits of improved accessibility to these areas. 

The same has to be implemented on a regular, year-round basis employing the counterparting scheme. Funds shall also be provided as counterpart for special-funded programs under the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP), Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA), Davao Integrated Development Program (DIDP), and for debt servicing for loans incurred purposely for development projects,” says the governor.

“In retrospect, my administration of nine years may seem to be long enough to have bestowed the palpable gains, yet I feel that the work is far from done. As it is, the problem with time is that it eventually runs out. And we know for a fact that there are still many development needs that have to be addressed. Yet, in a sense, the unfinished business, so to speak, will have to be carried over to the successor’s plan to address these needs. It is in the light of these developments that we are enjoining the Provincial Planning and Development Office to spearhead the preparation of our successor Provincial Development Plan 2017-2023. We can say that we have sustained our forward-looking paradigm and have developed our capacities to look ahead and to prepare for future challenges,” says Governor Malanyaon. (Ferdinand Zuasola)