By MIKE ORTEGA LIGALIG

Speaking in behalf of the Boholanos, Gov. Edgar M. Chatto has hailed Pres. Noynoy Aquino's fulfilling of his promise to help Bohol rise from the devastations of last year's 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Chatto in his weekly radio program announced that Aquino, whom the governor met in Manila lately, has approved the release of P2.389 billion funds from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). The amount, Chatto said, will be used to rebuild public infrastructures badly damaged by the deadly earthquake that struck Bohol on Oct. 15 last year. Out of this funding, the heavily damaged Tagbilaran City Hall and many other quake-hit municipal halls will either be rebuilt or rehabilitated depending on the severity of the damage reported in the Bohol Recovery Plan.

The P120-million City Hall, built during the administration of ex-city mayor Joe Torralba in 2004, is seen as the “weakest link” among the quake-hit buildings, private or publicly owned, in the city. To spare itself from courting the same trouble, the administration of City Mayor Baba Yap has been reported to be not keen on tapping the same construction company that had built the once controversial City Hall. Meanwhile, public markets, waterworks systems and other publicly owned buildings toppled by last year's tremor would also be reconstructed out of the P2.3 billion budget approved by Aquino. A separate budget has been allocated for the reconstruction of the province's centuries-old churches, declared national heritage sites.

Earlier, officials here had expressed worries that a portion of their share from the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) is not enough to rehabilitate the damaged public infrastructures. Immediately after the earthquake, both the local and national governments have been focusing on building homes for the thousands of homeless families and helping them find livelihood after they were displaced by the calamity. But local officials were a bit wary how they could reconstruct leveled-to-the-ground public buildings since the much of the initial aid had been intended only for shelter, food, medicine, education, livelihood and evacuation sites. However, the President had promised to help Bohol rise from the rubbles of the tremor. On Aquino's fifth visit to Bohol on May 2, his eight since elected president in 2010, the chief executive has heaped praises on Bohol leaders, saying that what happened to Bohol and how its people and their leaders have responded well to the disaster would serve as “model” for any disaster recovery plan in the country.

Aquino has told national media that the kind of leadership Chatto has exercised in times of darkness and uncertainties would ensure that Boholanos would have a “brighter tomorrow.” Aside from Aquino, various international organizations and funding institutions have also lauded Bohol's recovery efforts, suggesting that Bohol should be made as an “international template” for future recovery programs in times of natural calamity. Two months after the quake, Bohol, through the efforts of Chatto, Provincial Administrator Ae Damalerio, SEEM cluster head Liza M. Quirog and Capitol department heads, had come up with a detailed recovery plan. The recovery roadmap, dubbed “Post-Great Bohol Earthquake Rehabilitation Plan,” would actually cost more than P20 billion. On the other hand, the local government units in Leyte and Samar, six months after Yolanda, are still groping in darkness as they have not come up with a clear path to recovery.

P2.3-B IN BREAKDOWN

From the P2.389 billion, a lion's share of P1.040 billion will fund the infrastructure rehabilitation in the First District while P805.49 million is intended for Second District and the remaining P332.29 million for the Third District. The allocations for affected Tagbilaran City and municipal halls by district are P396.41 million, First District; P165.06 million, Second District; and P54.44 million, Third District. Public markets are allotted P162.59 million for First District; P146.93 million, Second District; and P114.21 million, Third District. Civic centers have P136.45 million for First District; P82.78 million, Second District; and P40.68 million, Third District. In the First District, barangay facilities like barangay halls, health centers and Day Care centers are funded P197.45 million; Second District, P119.55 million; and Third District, P96.93 million.

Provincial and municipal bridges are allocated P268 million for First District; P139.43 million, Second District; and P364 million, Third District. Waterworks systems in the First District are allotted P144.74 million; Second District, P151.75 million; and Third District, PP28.39 million. In all three districts, rehabilitation works on city and town halls sum up to P697.81 million; public markets, P423.72 million; civic centers, P259.90 million; barangay facilities, P413.94 million; bridges, PP269.24 million; and waterworks, P324.88 million. After finalizing the technical plans, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is set to start building permanent bridges in Abatan in Maribojoc and Cortes, Moalong in Loon, Desamparados and Tultugan in Calape, and Tagbuane in Alburquerque. Chatto said the infrastructure rehabilitation adheres to standard requirements and recovery theme “Build Back Bohol Better,” with further guidance of the concept transforming Bohol into a new Philippine learning center for heritage preservation. Before the NEDA broke to him on Friday the good news of his chairmanship, Chatto already met and discussed with the mayors on the same day at the Governor's Mansion how to harmonize and speed project implementation. (With reports from Ven C. Arigo)