Every town in Bohol should receive no less than P12 million in three years as their share of the 20% development fund. Carmen Mayor Conchita Toribio de los Reyes made this assertion in the face of the continued silence of Gov. Edgar Chatto on the development fund. Tagbilaran Mayor Dan Lim last year demanded the release of the 20% development fund from the Capitol not only for Tagbilaran but to all 47 towns in the province. Lim formally wrote Chatto to seek for the release of the funds but the request has not been granted despite the governor’s insistence that it has been used as intended. According to Lim’s computations, the 20% development fund for calendar year 2011 was P211,275,104. “If this was divided equally among the 48 local government units in the province, this would amount to P4,401,564.6 per LGU,” Lim said.

The city mayor said Tagbilaran has not received its share from the fund beginning with the incumbency of then Gov. Rene Relampagos who is now the first district congressman. Last week, the lady mayor vowed to distribute the funds as it is intended as one of her commitments in the event that she is elected governor. Mayor Che says the Capitol has no right to deny the local government units their share of the funds which is explicitly earmarked for them according to the law. Based on Lim’s computations of the funds last year, a town could get no less than P4 million a year. This means that in a three-year term, a town mayor should be getting at least P12M from the 20% development fund. “So when the towns get less than that, they are being shortchanged (alkanse),” Mayor Che said. Lim said he has given up on Chatto because it is clear that the governor has no intention of distributing the funds equally.

The city mayor said that while political allies get their share, those who are not allied with him politically get only crumbs. “For instance, in the town of Valencia, barangay captains are promised P100,000 worth of projects,” Lim added. Valencia is the hometown of Vice Gov. Concepcion Lim, Chatto’s running mate and benefactor. If a barangay receives P300,000 in three years, Valencia will be getting close to P4M in three years. However, there are towns who do not get even P500,000 for development projects in three years because their mayors refuse to swear allegiance to Chatto. Mayor Che won’t allow that to happen if she becomes governor. “I won’t allow the people to suffer because of the political affiliations of their mayors,” she added.