In the 2014 nat’l budget: Bohol officials want rehab fund

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — Bohol leaders reached out to Malacañang, the Senate and the House of Representatives to facilitate the release of national funds to help rebuild the province, devastated by the earthquake.

Governor Edgar Chatto sent out Rep. Arthur Yap (3rd district, Bohol) Monday to submit a letter, signed by provincial leaders, to the Senate through Senate President Franklin Drilon, requesting for the inclusion in the bicameral conference for the 2014 budget a special item for  the rehabilitation of  Bohol.

Yap also delivered a privilege speech in the House about a bill he co-authored with Reps. Rene Relampagos (1st dist.) and Aris Aumentado (2nd dist.) constituting the Bohol Earthquake Aid and Rehabilitation Commission and appropriating P15 billion for the aid, rehabilitation, and restoration of  Central  Visayas.”

The measure seeking for financial aid for Bohol was initially discussed with Senator Peter Alan Cayetano  who checked  Bohol over the weekend and confirmed that Bohol needs more funds for rehabilitation.

The move to insert a funding for Bohol in the 2014 budget also got the support of  Drilon, Senate Minority Floor Leader Juan Ponce Enrile, and Sen. Chiz Escudero, chair of the Senate finance committee.

The three congressmen of  Bohol also wrote to House Speaker Sonny Belmonte to help them in the bicameral committee “to make sure that there will be a rehabilitation fund for Bohol in the 2014 budget.”

Yap told The Freeman: “That’s still long. In the meantime, kinahanglan nato ang tabang karon. What we are also doing now is we have asked the senators and the House of  Representatives to come up with a joint or a concurrent resolution authorizing and urging the president to take whatever savings there are from the national government or the different executive branch agencies and use it to help Bohol now, because that is within the power of the president, anyway.”

The congressmen of Bohol signed the House resolution with Speaker Belmonte, Minority Floor Leader Rep. Ronaldo Zamora (San Juan City) and Majority Floor Leader Rep. Neptali Gonzales II (Mandaluyong City).

“That is the product of our work, which is now in the Senate, where we may able to get support for a concurrent resolution. We’re not going home until we get this done first. We are going home with something positive to announce to our people and we can again go back and join our constituents in relief operations,” said Yap. (FREEMAN)